Shloka 5

Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving

Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum

Devanagari script

निरता येन भावेन तत्र मे शृूणु कारणम्‌ | सम्यक्‌ चायमनुप्रश्नस्त्वयोक्तस्तु युधिष्ठिर

Transliteration

niratā yena bhāvena tatra me śṛṇu kāraṇam | samyak cāyam anupraśnas tvayoktas tu yudhiṣṭhira ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «Écoute de ma bouche la cause de cette disposition par laquelle les êtres s’attachent à la vie. Ô Yudhiṣṭhira, la question que tu as ajoutée est, en vérité, fort bien posée.»

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'niratāḥ', 'definition': 'engaged in

• absorbed in'}, {'term': 'yena bhāvena', 'definition': 'by which disposition/attitude

• through what state of mind'}, {'term': 'tatra', 'definition': 'therein

• in that matter/context'}, {'term': 'me', 'definition': 'from me

• my'}, {'term': 'śṛṇu', 'definition': 'hear

• listen'}, {'term': 'kāraṇam', 'definition': 'cause

• reason'}, {'term': 'samyak', 'definition': 'properly

• well'}, {'term': 'ayam', 'definition': 'this'}, {'term': 'anupraśnaḥ', 'definition': 'follow-up question

• further inquiry (asked to clarify a point)'}, {'term': 'tvayā uktaḥ', 'definition': 'spoken/asked by you'}, {'term': 'tu', 'definition': 'indeed

• emphatic particle'}, {'term': 'yudhiṣṭhira', 'definition': 'Yudhishthira (eldest Pandava

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Yudhishthira

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma affirms that Yudhishthira’s inquiry is properly framed and prepares to explain the psychological and ethical cause behind beings’ attachment to life—setting up a dharma-based analysis of why people cling to existence.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anushasana Parva’s instructional dialogue, Yudhishthira asks a clarifying follow-up question; Bhishma, as teacher, praises the question and introduces that he will now state the reason behind the attitude under discussion.