Shloka 1
Chapter 84: Brahmā’s Counsel on Tāraka, the Search for Agni, and the Genesis of Skanda
Kārttikeya
ऑपन-माज बक। अत एकाशीतितमो<ध्याय: गौओंका माहात्म्य तथा व्यासजीके द्वारा शुकदेवसे गौओंकी
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | pavitrāṇāṃ pavitraṃ yac chiṣṭaṃ loke ca yad bhavet | pāvanaṃ paramaṃ caiva tan me brūhi pitāmaha ||
ユディシュティラは言った。「祖父よ、あらゆる浄めの中で最も清らかなものとは何か—世の賢者と教養ある人々が真に清浄であると認め、至上の浄化力をもつとされるものを、どうか私にお語りください。」
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-inquiry: true purity is not merely personal preference but what is recognized as supremely sanctifying and endorsed by the śiṣṭa (the wise and ethically disciplined). It sets the standard that moral and ritual purity should be grounded in authoritative, well-lived tradition.
During Bhīṣma’s instruction in the Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira respectfully asks his grandsire to identify and explain the highest purifier—what the learned approve in the world as most purifying—introducing the ensuing discourse (in this chapter, connected with the greatness of cows and the merit of gifting cows).