Shloka 3
Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu
Gṛhastha-Vrata
केन मृत्युर्गृहस्थेन धर्ममाश्रित्य निर्जित: । इत्येतत् सर्वमाचक्ष्व तत्त्वेनापि च पार्थिव,भूपाल! किस गृहस्थने केवल धर्मका आश्रय लेकर मृत्युपर विजय पायी है? यह सब बातें आप यथार्थरूपसे कहिये
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
kena mṛtyur gṛhasthena dharmam āśritya nirjitaḥ |
ity etat sarvam ācakṣva tattvenāpi ca pārthiva bhūpāla ||
យុធិષ્ઠិរៈបានមានព្រះបន្ទូលថា៖ «ដោយគ្រួស្ថម្នាក់ណា ដែលយកតែធម៌ជាទីពឹង បានឈ្នះលើមរណៈ? ឱ ព្រះមហាក្សត្រ ឱ អ្នកអភិបាលផែនដី—សូមប្រាប់ខ្ញុំទាំងអស់នេះតាមសេចក្តីពិត»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral inquiry: whether steadfast reliance on dharma within ordinary household life can ‘conquer’ Death—i.e., transcend fear of mortality through righteous living, truthfulness, and ethical discipline.
Yudhiṣṭhira respectfully questions a kingly authority figure, asking for a truthful account of a householder who overcame Death by adhering to dharma, setting up an instructive exemplum within the Anuśāsana Parva’s didactic discourse.