Shloka 115
युधिछिर उवाच पजञ्चमे5हनि षष्ठे वा शाकं पचति स्वे गृहे । अनृणी चाप्रवासी च स वारिचर मोदते,युधिष्ठिर बोले--जलचर यक्ष! जिस पुरुषपर ऋण नहीं है और जो परदेशमें नहीं है, वह भले ही पाँचवें या छठे दिन अपने घरके भीतर साग-पात ही पकाकर खाता हो, तो भी वही सुखी है
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | pañcame 'hani ṣaṣṭhe vā śākaṃ pacati sve gṛhe | anṛṇī cāpravāsī ca sa vāricara modate ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O water-dwelling Yakṣa! That man who is free from debt and not living away from home—even if on the fifth day or the sixth he cooks only simple greens in his own house—he alone truly rejoices.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
True happiness is grounded in ethical and social stability—being free from debt and not forced to live away from one’s home—rather than in luxurious food or wealth; even simple fare becomes satisfying under such conditions.
In the Yakṣa-prashna episode of the Vana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira answers the Yakṣa’s questions. Here he defines who is genuinely happy, addressing the Yakṣa as a ‘water-roamer’ and emphasizing debtlessness and being at home.