युधिष्ठिर उवाच । कृष्णकृष्ण महाप्राज्ञ येन धर्मेण मानवाः । लभंते महदैश्वर्यं तन्नो ब्रूहि महामते । इत्युक्तो धर्मपुत्रेण कृष्णः प्राह युधिष्ठिरम्
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kṛṣṇakṛṣṇa mahāprājña yena dharmeṇa mānavāḥ | labhaṃte mahadaiśvaryaṃ tanno brūhi mahāmate | ityukto dharmaputreṇa kṛṣṇaḥ prāha yudhiṣṭhiram
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : « Ô Kṛṣṇa, ô Kṛṣṇa, toi dont la sagesse est immense, par quel dharma les hommes obtiennent-ils grande souveraineté et prospérité ? Dis-le-nous, ô noble d’esprit. » Ainsi sollicité par le fils du Dharma, Kṛṣṇa s’adressa à Yudhiṣṭhira.
Yudhiṣṭhira (then narrator notes Kṛṣṇa’s reply begins)
Scene: Yudhiṣṭhira, hands folded, addresses Kṛṣṇa twice by name in earnest; the court quiets as the king asks which dharma grants great sovereignty and prosperity; Kṛṣṇa prepares to answer.
True prosperity (aiśvarya) is sought through dharma, not merely through power or wealth.
The question sets up Kṛṣṇa’s answer that points to Lakṣmī-tīrtha as a dharmic means to aiśvarya.
No specific rite is prescribed yet; the verse frames the inquiry about a dharmic method.