Shloka 100
युधिछिर उवाच महाज्ञानमहड्कारो दम्भो धर्मो ध्वजोच्छूय: । दैवं दानफल प्रोक्तं पैशुन्यं परदूषणम्,युधिष्ठिर बोले--महान् अज्ञान अहंकार है, अपनेको झूठ-मूठ बड़ा धर्मात्मा प्रसिद्ध करना दम्भ है, दानका फल दैव कहलाता है और दूसरोंको दोष लगाना पैशुन्य (चुगली) है
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | mahājñānam ahaṅkāro dambho dharmo dhvajocchrayaḥ | daivaṃ dānaphalaṃ proktaṃ paiśunyaṃ paradūṣaṇam ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Egoism (ahamkāra) is truly great ignorance. Hypocrisy (dambha) is parading oneself as highly righteous. The fruit of giving (dāna) is called daiva—a providential result. And paiśunya is fault-finding and defamation of others.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines key moral pitfalls: ego is treated as profound ignorance; hypocrisy is the public display of righteousness; charity yields a providential fruit; and malicious gossip consists in blaming and defaming others. It urges inner sincerity, humility, and restraint in speech.
In a didactic exchange in the Vana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates concise definitions of ethical terms—clarifying what truly counts as pride, hypocrisy, the result of charity, and slander—so that conduct can be judged by inner truth rather than outward show.