Shloka 1
अपन क्राता बछ। आर: द्विपज्चाशर्दाधिकत्रिशततमो< ध्याय: नारदके द्वारा इन्द्रको उज्छवृत्तिवाले ब्राह्णकी कथा सुनानेका उपक्रम युधिछिर उवाच धर्मा: पितामहेनोक्ता मोक्षधर्माश्रिता: शुभा: | धर्ममाश्रमिणां श्रेष्ठ वक्तुमहति मे भवान्
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca—dharmāḥ pitāmahenoktā mokṣadharmāśritāḥ śubhāḥ | dharmam āśramiṇāṃ śreṣṭhaṃ vaktum arhati me bhavān ||
युधिष्ठिर म्हणाला—पितामह! आपण सांगितलेले कल्याणमय, मोक्षधर्माशी निगडित धर्म मी ऐकले. आता आश्रमधर्म पाळणाऱ्यांसाठी जो सर्वोत्तम धर्म आहे, तो मला सांगावा.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Yudhiṣṭhira requests a hierarchy of dharma: having heard liberation-oriented teachings, he now asks Bhīṣma to state the सर्वोत्तम (highest) dharma specifically for those living within the āśrama system—implying a synthesis of social duty and spiritual aim.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira continues his inquiry to Bhīṣma. After listening to mokṣa-dharma, he turns to practical guidance: which form of conduct is supreme for people committed to the disciplines of the life-stages (student, householder, forest-dweller, renunciant).