Shloka 83
यक्ष उवाच मृतः कथं स्यात् पुरुष: कथ॑ राष्ट्र मृतं भवेत् । श्राद्ध मृतं कथं वा स्यात् कथं यज्ञों मृतो भवेत्
yakṣa uvāca mṛtaḥ kathaṁ syāt puruṣaḥ kathaṁ rāṣṭraṁ mṛtaṁ bhavet | śrāddhaṁ mṛtaṁ kathaṁ vā syāt kathaṁ yajño mṛto bhavet ||
El Yaksha preguntó: «¿De qué modo se dice que un hombre está “muerto”? ¿De qué modo puede llamarse “muerto” a un reino? ¿Cuándo se considera “muerto” un śrāddha (rito para los antepasados), y cuándo se dice que un yajña (sacrificio) está “muerto”?»
यक्ष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ‘death’ not only as physical demise but as moral and functional collapse: a person, a kingdom, and even sacred rites can become ‘dead’ when their animating principles—dharma, sincerity, proper conduct, and right intention—are absent.
In the Yakṣa–praśna episode of the Vana Parva, the Yakṣa tests the responder through probing questions. Here he asks for definitions of what makes a person, a kingdom, a śrāddha, and a yajña effectively ‘dead,’ pushing the listener to reflect on ethical governance and the inner validity of ritual.