Shloka 25
Ajñātavāsa-saṅkalpaḥ — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Resolve and Dhaumya’s Exempla on Concealment
एकस्य धर्मेण सता मतेन सर्वे सम त॑ मार्गमनुप्रपन्ना: । मा वै द्वितीयं मा तृतीयं च वाउ्छे तस्मात् सन््तो धर्ममाहु: प्रधानम्,अपने एक ही वर्णके सत्पुरुष-सम्मत धर्मका पालन करनेसे सभी लोग उस विज्ञान- मार्गपर पहुँच जाते हैं, जो सबका लक्ष्य है। अतः दूसरे या तीसरे वर्णकी इच्छा नहीं रखनी चाहिये। इसलिये साधु पुरुष केवल वर्ण-धर्मको ही प्रधानता देते हैं
yama uvāca | ekasya dharmeṇa satā matena sarve samaṃ mārgaṃ anuprapannāḥ | mā vai dvitīyaṃ mā tṛtīyaṃ ca vā vāñche tasmāt santo dharmam āhuḥ pradhānam |
Yama said: “By adhering to the single dharma approved by the good and held to be right, all people reach the same path—the path of true understanding that is the common goal. Therefore one should not hanker after a ‘second’ or a ‘third’ status. For this reason, the virtuous declare dharma to be paramount.”
यम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that steadfast adherence to the dharma endorsed by the virtuous leads all to the same highest path; hence one should not crave alternative social standings, and dharma must be treated as the foremost principle.
Yama is instructing the listener in a didactic exchange, emphasizing the supremacy of dharma and discouraging restless desire for different ranks or identities, presenting moral order as the route to the shared ultimate goal.