Shloka 87
यक्ष उवाच तप: कि लक्षणं प्रोक्तं को दमश्न प्रकीर्तित: । क्षमा च का परा प्रोक्ता का च ह्वी: परिकीर्तिता
yakṣa uvāca tapaḥ ki lakṣaṇaṃ proktaṃ ko damaś ca prakīrtitaḥ | kṣamā ca kā parā proktā kā ca hrīḥ parikīrtitā ||
ヤクシャは問うた。「苦行（tapas）のしるしとは何と説かれるか。自制（dama）とは何と称えられるか。最高の赦し（kṣamā）とは何と教えられるか。さらに、慎み・羞恥（hrī）とは何と呼ばれるか。」
यक्ष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-inquiry by asking for precise ethical definitions: what truly counts as austerity (tapas), what constitutes self-restraint (dama), what is the highest forgiveness (kṣamā), and what is genuine modesty or moral shame (hrī). It signals that virtue is not merely outward practice but must be understood by its essential marks.
In the Yaksha–prashna episode of the Vana Parva, the Yaksha questions the interlocutor with probing moral and philosophical queries. Here, the Yaksha asks for definitions of key virtues—tapas, dama, kṣamā, and hrī—testing the respondent’s grasp of dharma and inner discipline.