Shloka 5
Go-dāna-phala-nirdeśa
Merit and Destinations from the Gift of Cows
स्वकर्मनिरतानां च शूराणां चापि कि फलम् । शौचे च कि फल प्रोक्त ब्रह्मचर्यें च कि फलम्
svakarmaniratānāṁ ca śūrāṇāṁ cāpi ki phalam | śauce ca ki phalaṁ proktaṁ brahmacaryeṁ ca ki phalam ||
Yudhiṣṭhira bertanya: “Buah apakah yang dikatakan bagi para kesatria yang teguh menunaikan svadharma mereka? Dan buah apakah yang dinyatakan bagi śauca (kemurnian laku), serta buah apakah bagi brahmacarya (pengekangan diri dan hidup tertib)?”
युधिछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-inquiry: actions and disciplines (steadfast performance of one’s duty, purity, and brahmacarya) are evaluated by their ‘phala’—the moral and spiritual consequences they yield. It sets up a discussion on how inner discipline and righteous conduct generate merit and shape one’s destiny.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused setting, Yudhiṣṭhira asks an elder authority to clarify the rewards promised for (1) heroes devoted to their own duties, and (2) the observances of śauca and brahmacarya—seeking a principled understanding of conduct and its results.