Shloka 2
धर्मे चार्थे च कामे च लोकवृत्ति: समाहिता । तेषां गरीयान् कतमो मध्यम: को लघुश्न कः,“'लोगोंकी प्रवृत्ति प्राय: धर्म, अर्थ और कामकी ओर होती है। इन तीनोंमें कौन सबसे श्रेष्ठ कौन मध्यम और कौन लघु है?”
dharme cārthe ca kāme ca lokavṛttiḥ samāhitā | teṣāṃ garīyān katamo madhyamaḥ ko laghuś ca kaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “People’s ordinary inclinations are generally directed toward dharma (right conduct), artha (material welfare), and kāma (desire and enjoyment). Among these three, which is the greatest, which is the middle, and which is the least?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry into the hierarchy of the three human aims—dharma, artha, and kāma—inviting a principled evaluation of what should govern human life when these aims compete.
Vaiśampāyana introduces a reflective question typical of the Śānti Parva’s instruction: since people pursue dharma, wealth, and pleasure, the discussion now turns to determining their relative importance—what should be regarded as highest, middling, and lowest.