Shloka 60
Dharma-śaṅkā-nivāraṇa: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Response on Karma-Phala and Trust in Dharma
ब्राह्म॒णं मे पिता पूर्व वासयामास पण्डितम् । सो<पि सर्वामिमां प्राह पित्रे मे भरतर्षभ,भरतमश्रेष्ठ! पूर्वकालमें मेरे पिताजीने अपने घरपर एक दविद्दान् ब्राह्मणको ठहराया था। उन्होंने ही पिताजीसे बृहस्पतिजीकी बतायी हुई इस सम्पूर्ण नीतिका प्रतिपादन किया था और मेरे भाइयोंको भी इसीकी शिक्षा दी थी। उस समय अपने भाइयोंके निकट रहकर घरमें ही मैंने भी उस नीतिको सुना था
brāhmaṇaṃ me pitā pūrvaṃ vāsayāmāsa paṇḍitam | so 'pi sarvām imāṃ prāha pitre me bharatarṣabha |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Formerly my father kept in his house a learned Brāhmaṇa. He expounded to my father this entire teaching on right conduct—said to have been taught by Bṛhaspati—and he instructed my brothers in it as well. Staying near my brothers at home in those days, I too heard that counsel.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the authoritative transmission of nīti (ethical and practical counsel): a learned Brāhmaṇa, drawing on Bṛhaspati’s teaching, instructed the king and the princes, showing that dharma and good governance are learned through disciplined listening to qualified teachers.
Yudhiṣṭhira explains the provenance of the counsel he is recounting: his father once hosted a wise Brāhmaṇa who taught a complete body of ethical instruction to Pāṇḍu and the brothers; Yudhiṣṭhira heard it as well while living with them at home.