Shloka 1
अध्याय १२८: शिव–उमा संवादः — तिलोत्तमा, श्मशान-मेध्यता, तथा चातुर्वर्ण्य-धर्मः
Chapter 128: Śiva–Umā Dialogue—Tilottamā, the Ritual Valence of the Śmaśāna, and the Fourfold Duty-Code
(दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठके ३ ३ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल २५३ “लोक हैं) शीसस्नश्शास्स | भ्निध्ॉप्राध्य चतुर्विशत्यधिकशततमो< ध्याय: नारदका पुण्डरीकको भगवान् नारायणकी आराधनाका उपदेश तथा उन्हें भगवद्धामकी प्राप्ति
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
sāmni cāpi pradāne ca jyāyaḥ kiṃ bhavato matam |
brūhi bharataśreṣṭha yad atra vyatiricyate ||
യുധിഷ്ഠിരൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ ഭരതശ്രേഷ്ഠാ! നിങ്ങളുടെ അഭിപ്രായത്തിൽ സാമം (സമാധാനം)യും ദാനംയും—ഇവയിൽ ഏതാണ് ശ്രേഷ്ഠം? ഇതിൽ ഏതാണ് ഉത്തമമെന്ന് പറയുക।
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical and practical inquiry in statecraft: when seeking to achieve an end (especially in governance or dispute), which method is preferable—winning others through conciliation (sāman) or through giving/concessions (dāna)? It invites a nuanced hierarchy of means rather than assuming force as the default.
Within the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira asks an elder authority (addressed as ‘best of the Bharatas’) to compare two classical diplomatic strategies—sāman and dāna—and to state which is superior in the given context.