Shloka 3
कथं सृष्टानि भूतानि कथ॑ं वर्णविभक्तय: । शौचाशौचं कथं तेषां धर्माधर्मविधि: कथम्
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kathaṃ sṛṣṭāni bhūtāni kathaṃ varṇa-vibhaktayaḥ | śaucāśaucaṃ kathaṃ teṣāṃ dharmādharmavidhiḥ katham |
Yudhiṣṭhira perguntou: “Como os seres vivos foram trazidos à existência? Como se estabeleceu a divisão em varṇas (ordens sociais)? Como se determinou entre eles o puro e o impuro? E como foram instituídas as ordenanças do dharma e do adharma?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a foundational ethical inquiry: dharma is not treated as mere custom but as something whose origins, classifications (including varṇa), and purity rules require principled explanation. It sets up a discussion on how moral and social order is grounded in creation and injunction (vidhi).
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira asks an elder authority to explain the origins of beings, the establishment of varṇa divisions, the rationale of purity/impurity regulations, and how dharma versus adharma is authoritatively defined.