Shloka 1

Karma-Phala Rahasya and the Ethics of Dāna (कर्मफल-रहस्यं दानधर्मश्च)

Devanagari script

(दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठके २ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ५१ श्लोक हैं) ऑपन--#रात< बक। ] अत्शऑशाए:<ह सप्तमो<्ध्याय: कर्मोके फलका वर्णन युधिछिर उवाच कर्मणां च समस्तानां शुभानां भरतर्षभ । फलानि महतां श्रेष्ठ प्रब्रूहि परिपृच्छत:

Transliteration

Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |

Karmaṇāṁ ca samastānāṁ śubhānāṁ bharatarṣabha |

Phalāni mahatāṁ śreṣṭha prabrūhi paripṛcchataḥ ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira dit : « Ô taureau parmi les Bharata, ô le meilleur des grands — dis-moi, car je te le demande sans détour : quels fruits naissent de toutes les actions auspiciées ? »

Word by Word

• युधिष्ठिरः: Yudhiṣṭhira
• युधिष्ठिरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: Perfect, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• कर्मणाम्: of actions/deeds
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• समस्तानाम्: of all, entire
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• शुभानाम्: of auspicious/good
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• भरतर्षभ: O bull among the Bharatas (best of Bharatas)
• भरतर्षभ: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरत-ऋषभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• फलानि: fruits/results
• फलानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• महताम्: of great (deeds/persons)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• श्रेष्ठ: O best (one)
• श्रेष्ठ: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• प्रब्रूहि: tell, declare
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+ब्रू (धातु)
• Form: Imperative, 2nd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• परिपृच्छतः: of (me) who is asking/inquiring
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि+प्रच्छ् (धातु) → परिपृच्छत् (कृदन्त प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Bharatarṣabha (honorific addressee, a foremost Bharata/Kuru)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a dharma-inquiry: ethical actions (śubha-karmāṇi) are meaningful because they yield definite results (phalāni). It sets up an instruction on karmaphala—how wholesome deeds bear fruits and why a noble person should understand them.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira respectfully addresses a revered interlocutor (honored as ‘bharatarṣabha’ and ‘śreṣṭha’) and asks for a systematic explanation of the outcomes of auspicious deeds, initiating a didactic discussion on merit and moral causality.