Shloka 120
यक्षने पूछा--परंतप! तुमने मेरे सब प्रश्नोंके उत्तर ठीक-ठीक दे दिये, अब तुम पुरुषकी भी व्याख्या कर दो और यह बताओ कि सबसे बड़ा धनी कौन है? ।। युधिछिर उवाच दिवं स्पृशति भूमिं च शब्द: पुण्येन कर्मणा । यावत् स शब्दो भवति तावत् पुरुष उच्यते,युधिष्ठिर बोले--जिस व्यक्तिके पुण्यकर्मोकी कीर्तिका शब्द जबतक स्वर्ग और भूमिको स्पर्श करता है, तबतक वह पुरुष कहलाता है
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | divaṃ spṛśati bhūmiṃ ca śabdaḥ puṇyena karmaṇā | yāvat sa śabdo bhavati tāvat puruṣa ucyate ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “A person’s good name—born of meritorious deeds—touches both heaven and earth. So long as that fame endures, so long is one truly called a ‘person’ (puruṣa).”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human worth is measured ethically: one is truly a ‘puruṣa’ insofar as one’s virtuous deeds generate enduring good repute that benefits and inspires both the worldly and the higher (heavenly) spheres.
In the Yakṣa–Yudhiṣṭhira dialogue, after answering many riddling questions, Yudhiṣṭhira explains what makes someone a ‘puruṣa’: lasting fame grounded in puṇya (merit) and right action.