Shloka 2
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
न ते शक््या दरिद्रेण यज्ञा: प्राप्तुं पितामह । बहूपकरणा यज्ञा नानासम्भारविस्तरा:
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | na te śakyā daridreṇa yajñāḥ prāptuṃ pitāmaha | bahūpakaraṇā yajñā nānāsambhāravistarāḥ ||
युधिष्ठिर म्हणाला— पितामह! दरिद्र मनुष्याला त्या यज्ञांचे फळ प्राप्त होऊ शकत नाही; कारण यज्ञांना अनेक उपकरणे लागतात आणि विविध सामग्री व आयोजनांमुळे त्यांचा विस्तार फार वाढतो।
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Yudhiṣṭhira highlights an ethical limitation of elaborate Vedic sacrifice: when religious merit is tied to costly materials and extensive arrangements, the impoverished are effectively excluded. The verse sets up a dharmic inquiry into forms of righteousness that remain attainable for all—especially the poor—such as charity, self-restraint, truthfulness, service, and inner purity.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira questions Bhīṣma on dharma and the means to attain merit. Here he observes that grand sacrifices demand many implements and provisions, so a poor person cannot realistically perform them or gain their fruits, prompting guidance toward more universally accessible paths of dharma.