Shloka 1
ऑपन-माजल छा जि: चतुर्विशर्त्याधेकशततमो< ध्याय: इन्द्र हि अप प्रह्नादकी कथा--शीलका प्रभाव, शीलके अ धर्म, सत्य, सदाचार, बल और लक्ष्मीके न रहनेका वर्णन युधिछिर उवाच इमे जना नरश्रेष्ठ प्रशंसन्ति सदा भुवि । धर्मस्य शीलमेवादौ ततो मे संशयो महान्,युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--नरश्रेष्ठ पितामह! भूमण्डलके ये सभी मनुष्य सर्वप्रथम धर्मके अनुरूप शीलकी ही अधिक प्रशंसा करते हैं; अतः इस विषयमें मुझे बड़ा भारी संदेह हो गया है
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | ime janā naraśreṣṭha praśaṃsanti sadā bhuvi | dharmasya śīlam evādau tato me saṃśayo mahān ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O best of men, venerable grandsire! People everywhere on this earth always praise, first and foremost, good conduct (śīla) as the very foundation of dharma. Because of this, a great doubt has arisen in my mind.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames śīla (good conduct/character) as the commonly acknowledged starting point of dharma, prompting a philosophical inquiry into why conduct is treated as dharma’s foundation.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses an elder authority (“best of men”) and raises a doubt: since people praise conduct first when speaking of dharma, he seeks clarification about the true basis and hierarchy of virtues.