Shloka 1
दानपात्रापात्र-निर्णयः / Determining Worthy Gifts, Recipients, and Permissible Food
ऑपन--#ह-< बक। ] अि्शशाड< ३-“लेष्मातकके वैद्यकमें अनेक नाम आये हैं
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | śrotum icchāmi bhagavan vistareṇa mahāmune | rājadharmān dvijaśreṣṭha cāturvarṇyasya cākhilān ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O revered one, O great sage, best among the twice-born—I wish to hear in full detail the duties of kingship, and also the complete duties of the four social orders.”
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharma as something to be learned systematically: Yudhiṣṭhira seeks a comprehensive account of rājadharma (ethical governance) together with the broader framework of duties across the four varṇas, implying that just rule is grounded in an ordered moral and social understanding.
At the start of this section in Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira formally petitions the revered teacher-sage to explain, in detail, the principles of kingship and the complete set of social duties—setting up an extended instructional discourse on governance and dharma.