Shloka 3
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
यथा नरेण कर्ताव्यं धर्ममार्गनिवर्तिना । एतत् सर्व महाबाहो भवान् व्याख्यातुमरहति,महाबाहो! धर्ममार्गका अनुसरण करनेवाले मनुष्यका इस विषयमें जैसा कर्तव्य हो, इस सबकी आप स्पष्टरूपसे व्याख्या करें
yathā nareṇa kartavyaṃ dharmamārganivartinā | etat sarvaṃ mahābāho bhavān vyākhyātum arhati ||
Wahai yang berlengan perkasa, jelaskanlah dengan terang semuanya ini—apa kewajiban seseorang yang menapaki jalan dharma, dan bagaimana kewajiban itu harus dipahami serta dijalankan.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharma as practical duty (kartavya) and requests an authoritative exposition: a person committed to the dharma-path must know what actions are obligatory and why.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira, seeking ethical clarity after the war, addresses Bhīṣma as the elder authority and asks him to explain the proper conduct for one who follows dharma.