Shloka 67
यक्ष उवाच किंस्विदेको विचरते जात: को जायते पुन: । किंस्विद्धिमस्य भैषज्यं किंस्विदावपनं महत्
yakṣa uvāca kiṃsvid eko vicarate jātaḥ ko jāyate punaḥ | kiṃsvid dhim asya bhaiṣajyaṃ kiṃsvid āvapanaṃ mahat ||
The Yakṣa said: “What is it that moves about alone? Who is it that is born again and again? What is the remedy for this condition? And what is the great ‘sowing’ (āvapana)—the supreme act that yields the highest fruit?”
यक्ष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames key dharmic inquiries: the solitude of the individual self in experience, the cycle of repeated birth (saṃsāra), the possibility of a remedy (liberating knowledge/discipline), and the idea that actions are ‘sown’ to yield future results—highlighting karma and the search for the highest good.
In the Yakṣa–Yudhiṣṭhira dialogue at the lake in Vana Parva, the Yakṣa tests the hero through riddling questions. This verse is one such set of questions, probing metaphysical and ethical understanding before granting boons or relief.