Shloka 2
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 181 — Svayaṃvara Aftermath: Arjuna–Karna Exchange and Bhīma–Śalya Contest
जानता वै परं धर्म वसिष्ठेन महात्मना । अगम्यागमनं कस्मात् कृतं तेन महर्षिणा,तथा उत्तम धर्मके ज्ञाता महात्मा महर्षि वसिष्ठने यह परस्त्रीगमनका पाप कैसे किया?
jānatā vai paraṃ dharmaṃ vasiṣṭhena mahātmanā | agamyāgamanam kasmāt kṛtaṃ tena maharṣiṇā ||
ਅਰਜੁਨ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਮਹਾਤਮਾ ਮਹਰਿਸ਼ੀ ਵਸ਼ਿਸ਼ਠ ਪਰਮ ਧਰਮ ਨੂੰ ਜਾਣਦਾ ਸੀ; ਫਿਰ ਉਸ ਨੇ ‘ਅਗਮ੍ਯਾਗਮਨ’—ਪਰ-ਸਤ੍ਰੀਗਮਨ ਵਾਲਾ ਇਹ ਪਾਪ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਕੀਤਾ?
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse raises a classic dharma-question: even a knower of the highest moral law may appear to commit a grave transgression, prompting inquiry into context, intention, compulsion, and the complexity of ethical judgment in epic narrative.
Arjuna voices astonishment and doubt: since the sage Vasiṣṭha is renowned as a master of dharma, Arjuna asks why he performed an act described as ‘agamya-āgamanam’—approaching what is forbidden—framing the episode as a moral puzzle that demands explanation.