Shloka 2
Vipula’s Guru-Obedience, Divine Flowers, and the Peril of Others’ Oaths (विपुलोपाख्यानम्—पुष्पप्राप्तिः शपथ-प्रसङ्गश्च)
स्त्रियश्न पुरुषेष्वेव प्रत्यक्ष लोकसाक्षिकम् | अतन्र मे संशयस्तीव्रो हृदि सम्परिवर्तते
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | striyaś ca puruṣeṣv eva pratyakṣaṁ lokasākṣikam | ataḥ me saṁśayas tīvraḥ hṛdi samparivartate ||
ಯುಧಿಷ್ಠಿರನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಅದೇ ರೀತಿಯಾಗಿ ಸ್ತ್ರೀಯರೂ ಪುರುಷರಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಆಸಕ್ತರಾಗುತ್ತಾರೆ; ಇದು ಪ್ರತ್ಯಕ್ಷ, ಲೋಕವೇ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ನನ್ನ ಹೃದಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ತೀವ್ರ ಸಂಶಯ ಮರುಮರು ತಿರುಗುತ್ತಿದೆ।
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry: Yudhiṣṭhira appeals to common, observable human behavior (“the world as witness”) to justify his inner doubt. It highlights how dharma-discussion often begins from lived experience and then seeks a principled resolution.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused setting, Yudhiṣṭhira voices a troubling doubt arising from what he sees in society—mutual attraction/attachment between women and men—and prepares the ground for further explanation or guidance from the elder authority he is questioning.