Mahabharata 3.201.40 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 40
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
येषां तटाकानि महोदकानि वाप्यश्च कूपाश्च प्रतिश्रयाश्व अन्नस्य दानं मधुरा च वाणी यमस्य ते निर्वचना भवन्ति
yeṣāṃ taṭākāni mahodakāni vāpyāś ca kūpāś ca pratiśrayāś ca | annasya dānaṃ madhurā ca vāṇī yamasya te nirvacanā bhavanti ||
Mārkaṇḍeya dit : «Ceux qui font creuser des réservoirs profonds et pleins d’eau—ainsi que des puits à degrés, des puits et des abris pour les voyageurs—ceux qui donnent la nourriture en aumône et parlent avec une douce bienveillance : pour eux, la juridiction de Yama devient inopérante. Autrement dit, ils n’ont même pas à entendre sa convocation, car un tel mérite les place hors de portée de son châtiment.»
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Public-benefit gifts (water sources and shelters), food charity, and gentle speech are presented as powerful forms of dharma whose merit protects a person from Yama’s punitive authority—emphasizing that sustaining life, easing travel, and practicing kindness in word and deed are among the highest ethical acts.
Mārkaṇḍeya is instructing his listeners on the fruits of righteous conduct. He lists concrete, socially sustaining actions—building waterworks and shelters, giving food, and speaking kindly—and declares that such people are not subject to Yama’s summons or punishment, highlighting the moral economy of karma and merit.
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