Shloka 1
Nārada–Vāyu–Śalmali Upākhyāna: Enmity with the Strong and the Primacy of Buddhi (नारद-वायु-शल्मलि उपाख्यानम्)
औपनआक्ात बा 2 पजञज्चाशर्दाधिकशततमोब् ध्याय: इन्द्रोत मुनिका राजा जनमेजयको फटकारना युधिछ्िर उवाच अबुद्धिपूर्व यत् पापं कुर्याद् भरतसत्तम | मुच्यते स कथं तस्मादेतत् सर्व वदस्व मे,युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--भरतश्रेष्ठ)! यदि कोई पुरुष अनजानमें किसी तरहका पापकर्म कर बैठे तो वह उससे किस प्रकार मुक्त हो सकता है? यह सब मुझे बताइये
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: abuddhi-pūrvaṁ yat pāpaṁ kuryād bharata-sattama | mucyate sa kathaṁ tasmād etat sarvaṁ vadasva me ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O best of the Bharatas, if a person commits a sinful act without prior understanding—out of ignorance or lack of discernment—how can he be released from that fault? Tell me fully about this.”
युधिछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a key dharma problem: moral fault can arise even without deliberate intent, and Yudhiṣṭhira asks how such ignorance-born wrongdoing can be purified or released. It sets up the discussion of prāyaścitta (expiation), responsibility, and the role of knowledge and intention in ethical judgment.
In the Śānti Parva’s instructional dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a revered interlocutor (honored as ‘best of the Bharatas’) and requests a complete explanation of how a person becomes free from sin committed unintentionally or without understanding.