Shloka 99
यक्ष उवाच को5हड्कार इति प्रोक्त: कश्न दम्भ: प्रकीर्तित: । कि तद् दैवं परं प्रोक्त कि तत् पैशुन्यमुच्यते
yakṣa uvāca: ko'haṅkāra iti proktaḥ? kaś ca dambhaḥ prakīrtitaḥ? ki tad daivaṃ paraṃ proktaṃ? ki tat paiśunyam ucyate?
ヤクシャは言った。「何をアハンカーラ（我慢・自我の驕り）というのか。何をダンバ（偽善、徳を誇示する虚飾）というのか。至上の『神意／天命』（ダイヴァ）と宣言されるものは何か。さらにパイシュニヤ—悪意ある陰口、誹謗中傷—とは何を指すのか。」
यक्ष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral inquiry into inner faults and ethical conduct: it asks for clear definitions of egoism (ahaṅkāra), hypocrisy/ostentation (dambha), the highest sense of the divine (param daivam), and harmful speech (paiśunya). The teaching emphasis is discernment—knowing these concepts precisely so one can restrain ego, avoid pretence, honor the truly divine, and refrain from slander.
In the Yaksha–Prashna episode of the Vana Parva, the Yaksha interrogates Yudhiṣṭhira with a series of dharma questions. This verse is one set of those questions, testing his understanding of character, virtue, and the ethics of speech and conduct.