Shloka 4
Adhyāya 290: Sāṃkhya-vidhi, Deha-doṣa, Guṇa-vicāra, and Mokṣa-gati
Bhīṣma–Yudhiṣṭhira Dialogue
भीष्मजीने कहा--युधिष्ठिर! इस विषयमें भी मैं तुम्हें पूर्ववत् एक प्राचीन प्रसंग सुनाऊँगा। एक समय महा-यशस्वी राजा जनकने महात्मा पराशर मुनिसे पूछा-- ।। कि श्रेय: सर्वभूतानामस्मिंललोके परत्र च । यद् भवेत् प्रतिपत्तव्यं तद् भवान् प्रब्रवीतु मे,“मुने! कौन-सी ऐसी वस्तु है जो समस्त प्राणियोंके लिये इहलोक और परलोकमें भी कल्याणकारी एवं जानने योग्य है? उसे आप मुझे बताइये'
bhīṣma uvāca—yudhiṣṭhira, asmin viṣaye ’pi ahaṃ tvāṃ pūrvavat ekaṃ prācīnaṃ prasangaṃ śrāvayiṣyāmi. ekadā mahāyaśasvī rājā janakaḥ mahātmānaṃ parāśaraṃ muniṃ papraccha— “śreyaḥ sarvabhūtānām asmin loke paratra ca yad bhavet pratipattavyaṃ tad bhavān prabravītu me.”
Bhishma said: “Yudhishthira, on this matter too I will relate to you, as before, an ancient episode. Once, the highly renowned King Janaka questioned the great sage Parashara: ‘O sage, what is that which brings welfare to all beings in this world and in the next, and which is truly to be understood and adopted? Please tell me that.’”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry: the highest good (śreyas) is that which benefits all beings both in worldly life and in the hereafter, and it must be not only known but also practiced (pratipattavya).
Bhishma begins an instructive ‘ancient episode’ for Yudhishthira, introducing a past dialogue where King Janaka asks the sage Parashara to define what truly leads to universal welfare across both realms.