Shloka 1
Brahmapūjā-kāraṇa-prśnaḥ and Keśava–Viṣvaksena-stuti
Question on Brahmin veneration; hymn on Kṛṣṇa as cosmic order
अत्-#-रा- जा अष्टत्रिशदाधिकशततमो< ध्याय: पाँच प्रकारके दानोंका वर्णन युधिछिर उवाच श्रुतं ते भवतस्तात सत्यव्रतपराक्रम । दानधर्मेण महता ये प्राप्तास्त्रिदिवं नूपा:
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca—śrutaṃ te bhavatastāta satyavrataparākrama | dānadharmeṇa mahatā ye prāptās tridivaṃ nṛpāḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «Ô vénérable figure paternelle, ferme dans la vérité et riche en vaillance, j’ai entendu de ta propre bouche les récits de ces rois qui, par le grand mérite né du dharma du don, atteignirent le monde céleste.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dāna-dharma—righteous giving—as a powerful ethical practice that generates great merit (puṇya), capable of elevating even rulers to heavenly realms; it frames generosity as a central royal and moral virtue.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses the elder (Bhīṣma in context) and acknowledges that he has already heard the descriptions of various kings who reached heaven through the merit of charitable giving, setting up the continuation of instruction on types of gifts and their fruits.