Shloka 91
यक्ष उवाच कः शत्रुर्दुर्जय: पुंसां कश्न व्याधिरनन्तक: । कीदृशश्च स्मृतः साधुरसाधु: कीदृश: स्मृत:,यक्षने पूछा--मनुष्योंका दुर्जय शत्रु कौन है? अनन्त व्याधि कया है? साधु कौन माना जाता है? और असाधु किसे कहते हैं?
yakṣa uvāca | kaḥ śatrur durjayaḥ puṁsāṁ kaś ca vyādhir anantakaḥ | kīdṛśaś ca smṛtaḥ sādhuḥ asādhuḥ kīdṛśaḥ smṛtaḥ ||
The Yaksha said: “What is the unconquerable enemy of human beings? What is the endless disease that consumes them? What kind of person is remembered as a good man, and what kind is remembered as a bad man?”
यक्ष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical inquiry: true human struggle is against inner forces (the ‘unconquerable enemy’) and persistent moral-psychological afflictions (the ‘endless disease’). It also asks for clear criteria by which society and tradition judge virtue (sādhu) and vice (asādhu), preparing the listener to define dharma in practical terms.
In the Yaksha–Yudhishthira dialogue, the Yaksha tests the protagonist through probing questions. Here the Yaksha asks four linked questions about inner enemies, chronic afflictions, and the marks of a good or bad person—testing discernment and moral understanding rather than mere learning.