Shloka 112
चारों वेद पढ़ा होनेपर भी जो दुराचारी है, वह अधमतामें शूद्रसे भी बढ़कर है। जो (नित्य) अग्निहोत्रमें तत्पर और जितेन्द्रिय है, वही “ब्राह्मण” कहा जाता है ।। यक्ष उवाच प्रियवचनवादी कि लभते विमृशितकार्यकर: कि लभते । बहुमित्रकर: किं लभते धर्मरत: कि लभते कथय,यक्षने पूछा--बताओ; मधुर वचन बोलनेवालेको क्या मिलता है? सोच-विचारकर काम करनेवाला क्या पा लेता है? जो बहुत-से मित्र बना लेता है, उसे क्या लाभ होता है? और जो धर्मनिष्ठ है, उसे क्या मिलता है?
yakṣa uvāca—priyavacanavādī kiṁ labhate? vimṛśitakāryakaraḥ kiṁ labhate? bahumitrakaraḥ kiṁ labhate? dharmarataḥ kiṁ labhate? kathaya.
The Yaksha asked: “Tell me—what does one gain by speaking pleasing words? What does one gain by acting only after careful reflection? What benefit comes to the one who makes many friends? And what does the person devoted to dharma attain?” In the ethical testing of Yudhiṣṭhira, the Yaksha frames virtue not as mere learning or status, but as lived conduct whose fruits are seen in trust, safety, social harmony, and ultimate well-being.
यक्ष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights practical ethics: sweet speech, thoughtful action, cultivating friendships, and devotion to dharma are not ornamental virtues but sources of real human goods—trust, reduced conflict, reliable outcomes, social support, and moral steadiness.
In the Yaksha–Yudhiṣṭhira dialogue of the Vana Parva, the Yaksha tests the king through pointed questions. Here the Yaksha asks what ‘results’ follow from four virtues—pleasant speech, deliberation before action, making many friends, and commitment to dharma—setting up Yudhiṣṭhira’s answers about their fruits.