Shloka 1
Chapter 84: Brahmā’s Counsel on Tāraka, the Search for Agni, and the Genesis of Skanda
Kārttikeya
ऑपन-माज बक। अत एकाशीतितमो<ध्याय: गौओंका माहात्म्य तथा व्यासजीके द्वारा शुकदेवसे गौओंकी, गोलोककी और गोदानकी महत्ताका वर्णन युधिछिर उवाच पवित्राणां पवित्र यच्छिष्टं लोके च यद् भवेत् । पावन परमं चैव तनमे ब्रूहि पितामह,युधिष्ठिरने कहा--पितामह! संसारमें जो वस्तु पवित्रोंमें भी पवित्र तथा लोकमें पवित्र कहकर अनुमोदित एवं परम पावन हो, उसका मुझसे वर्णन कीजिये
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | pavitrāṇāṃ pavitraṃ yac chiṣṭaṃ loke ca yad bhavet | pāvanaṃ paramaṃ caiva tan me brūhi pitāmaha ||
Yudhiṣṭhira disse: “Avô, peço-te que me fales daquilo que é o mais puro entre tudo o que purifica—o que os sábios e os homens cultos no mundo aprovam como verdadeiramente puro, e o que é tido por supremamente santificador.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-inquiry: true purity is not merely personal preference but what is recognized as supremely sanctifying and endorsed by the śiṣṭa (the wise and ethically disciplined). It sets the standard that moral and ritual purity should be grounded in authoritative, well-lived tradition.
During Bhīṣma’s instruction in the Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira respectfully asks his grandsire to identify and explain the highest purifier—what the learned approve in the world as most purifying—introducing the ensuing discourse (in this chapter, connected with the greatness of cows and the merit of gifting cows).