Shloka 75
यक्ष उवाच कश्च धर्म: परो लोके कश्न धर्म: सदाफल: । कि नयम्य न शोचन्ति कैश्नल संधिर्न जीर्यते,यक्षने पूछा--लोकमें श्रेष्ठ धर्म क्या है? नित्य फलवाला धर्म क्या है? किसको वशमें रखनेसे मनुष्य शोक नहीं करते? और किनके साथ की हुई मित्रता नष्ट नहीं होती?
yakṣa uvāca | kaś ca dharmaḥ paro loke kaś ca dharmaḥ sadāphalaḥ | kiṃ niyamya na śocanti kaiś ca saṃdhir na jīryate ||
The Yaksha said: “What is the highest dharma in this world? What dharma bears unfailing fruit? By restraining what do people become free from sorrow? And with whom does a friendship, once made, never decay?”
यक्ष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames four ethical inquiries central to dharma: identifying the highest virtue, the practice that yields lasting benefit, the inner restraint that ends grief, and the kind of relationship whose bond remains enduring. It points toward a dharma grounded in stable character, self-mastery, and trustworthy companionship.
In the Yaksha–Yudhishthira dialogue at the forest lake, the Yaksha tests Yudhishthira with probing questions about conduct and wisdom. This verse is one set of those questions, designed to reveal the king’s understanding of dharma and the foundations of a life free from sorrow and betrayal.