Shloka 1
Adhyāya 249 — Mṛtyu-prādurbhāvaḥ (The Manifestation of Death) / Restraint of Tejas and Ordered Saṃhāra
शुकदेवजीने पूछा--पिताजी! इस जगतमें जिस धर्मसे बढ़कर दूसरा कोई धर्म नहीं है तथा जो सब धर्मोंसे श्रेष्ठ है, उसका आप मुझसे वर्णन कीजिये
śuka uvāca—pitāḥ! asmin jagati yena dharmeṇa paraḥ anyaḥ kaścid dharmo nāsti, yaś ca sarva-dharmebhyaḥ śreṣṭhaḥ, tasya tvaṃ me varṇanaṃ kuru.
Śuka disse: “Pai, por favor, descreve-me aquele dharma neste mundo além do qual não há dharma mais elevado, e que se ergue supremo entre todas as formas de retidão.”
शुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a foundational ethical inquiry: among many duties and moral codes, Śuka asks for the single dharma that is highest and unsurpassed—setting up a discussion on ultimate righteousness and the supreme guiding principle of life.
Śuka addresses his father respectfully and requests an exposition on the greatest dharma. This functions as the opening prompt for a didactic section in Śānti Parva, where higher moral and spiritual principles are to be explained.