युधिछिर उवाच कि श्रेय: पुरुषस्येह कि कुर्वन् सुखमेधते । विपाप्मा स भवेत् केन कि वा कल्मषनाशनम्
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: kiṃ śreyaḥ puruṣasyeha kiṃ kurvan sukham edhate | vipāpmā sa bhavet kena kiṃ vā kalmaṣanāśanam ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Wahai Kakek Agung, apakah kebaikan tertinggi bagi manusia di dunia ini? Dengan melakukan apa ia bertumbuh dalam kebahagiaan? Melalui laku apa ia terbebas dari dosa? Dan perbuatan apakah yang terutama melenyapkan noda moral?”
युधिछिर उवाच
The verse frames a classic dharma-inquiry: identifying the action(s) that lead to true welfare (śreyas), worldly happiness, and moral purification—setting up Bhīṣma’s ethical instruction on conduct that removes sin and promotes well-being.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s didactic setting, Yudhiṣṭhira approaches the elder Bhīṣma as a moral authority and asks a sequence of practical questions about the best good, the source of happiness, and the means of erasing sin, inviting a systematic teaching in response.