Shloka 8
Adhyāya 55 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Hesitation and Bhīṣma’s Authorization of Inquiry
Rājadharma Prelude
यो न कामाज्न संरम्भान्न भयाज्नार्थकारणात् । कुर्यादधर्म धर्मात्मा स मां पृच्छतु पाण्डव:,“जो न तो कामनासे, न क्रोधसे, न भयसे और न किसी स्वार्थके ही लोभसे अधर्म करते हैं, वे धर्मात्मा पाण्डुपुत्र युधिष्ठिर मुझसे प्रश्न करें
yo na kāmāj na saṃrambhān na bhayāj nārtha-kāraṇāt | kuryād adharmaṃ dharmātmā sa māṃ pṛcchatu pāṇḍavaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Let that Pāṇḍava—steadfast in dharma—question me: the one who would not commit adharma out of desire, out of rash anger, out of fear, or for the sake of self-interest.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A person truly qualified to inquire into dharma is one who does not fall into wrongdoing from the four common drivers—desire, rash anger, fear, or self-interested gain. Ethical clarity begins with mastery over these motives.
Vaiśampāyana frames the ideal questioner—implicitly Yudhiṣṭhira—before proceeding with instruction in the Śānti Parva. He signals that the forthcoming teaching on dharma is meant for a ruler committed to righteousness and not swayed by passion, anger, fear, or greed.