Shloka 51
यक्ष उवाच कि क्षत्रियाणां देवत्वं कश्न धर्म: सतामिव । कश्नैषां मानुषो भाव: किमेषामसतामिव
yakṣa uvāca: kiṁ kṣatriyāṇāṁ devatvaṁ kaś ca dharmaḥ satām iva | ka eṣāṁ mānuṣo bhāvaḥ kim eṣām asatām iva ||
ヤクシャは言った。「クシャトリヤにおいて、彼を『神のごとく』ならしめる資質とは何か。徳ある者の行いに似たダルマとは何か。彼のうち、ただ人としての性とは何か。さらに、悪しき者のやり方に似たものとは何か。」
यक्ष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral analysis of kṣatriya character by separating four layers: the ‘godlike’ excellence, the virtue aligned with the good, the ordinary human element, and the tendency that mirrors the wicked—inviting discernment about true righteous leadership.
In the Yakṣa–Yudhiṣṭhira dialogue of the Vana Parva, the Yakṣa tests the responder through probing questions. Here he asks for a nuanced definition of a kṣatriya’s nature and conduct across virtuous, human, and unvirtuous dimensions.