Shloka 100
युधिछिर उवाच महाज्ञानमहड्कारो दम्भो धर्मो ध्वजोच्छूय: । दैवं दानफल प्रोक्तं पैशुन्यं परदूषणम्
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | mahājñānam ahaṅkāro dambho dharmo dhvajocchrayaḥ | daivaṃ dānaphalaṃ proktaṃ paiśunyaṃ paradūṣaṇam ||
Yudhiṣṭhira répondit : «L’ahamkāra est, en vérité, une grande ignorance. Dambha, c’est se donner en spectacle comme si l’on était d’une rectitude exemplaire. Le fruit du don (dāna) est appelé daiva, un résultat providentiel. Et paiśunya, c’est chercher les torts d’autrui et le diffamer.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines key moral pitfalls: ego is treated as profound ignorance; hypocrisy is the public display of righteousness; charity yields a providential fruit; and malicious gossip consists in blaming and defaming others. It urges inner sincerity, humility, and restraint in speech.
In a didactic exchange in the Vana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates concise definitions of ethical terms—clarifying what truly counts as pride, hypocrisy, the result of charity, and slander—so that conduct can be judged by inner truth rather than outward show.