Shloka 2
दानपात्रापात्र-निर्णयः / Determining Worthy Gifts, Recipients, and Permissible Food
आपत्सु च यथा नीति: प्रणेतव्या द्विजोत्तम | धर्म्यमालक्ष्य पन्थानं विजयेयं कथं महीम्
āpatsu ca yathā nītiḥ praṇetavyā dvijottama | dharmyam ālakṣya panthānaṃ vijayeyam kathaṃ mahīm ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O best of the twice-born, how should policy and conduct be directed when calamity strikes? Keeping in view a path that accords with dharma, by what means may I win sovereignty over this earth?”
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a central problem of rājadharma: even in emergencies, a ruler must shape policy with dharma as the guiding criterion, seeking success and sovereignty through ethically legitimate means rather than abandoning righteousness for expediency.
In Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira, burdened by the aftermath of war and the responsibilities of rule, questions a Brahmin authority about how to act during crises and how to secure rule over the earth while remaining aligned with dharma.