Shloka 2
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
न ते शक््या दरिद्रेण यज्ञा: प्राप्तुं पितामह । बहूपकरणा यज्ञा नानासम्भारविस्तरा:,किन्तु पितामह! दरिद्र मनुष्य उन यज्ञोंका लाभ नहीं उठा सकता; क्योंकि उन यज्ञोंके उपकरण बहुत हैं और अनेक प्रकारके आयोजनोंके कारण उनका विस्तार बहुत बढ़ जाता है
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | na te śakyā daridreṇa yajñāḥ prāptuṃ pitāmaha | bahūpakaraṇā yajñā nānāsambhāravistarāḥ ||
न तु शक्याः दरिद्रेण यज्ञफलप्राप्तयः पितामह। बहूपकरणा यज्ञाः नानासम्भारविस्तराः।
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Yudhiṣṭhira highlights an ethical limitation of elaborate Vedic sacrifice: when religious merit is tied to costly materials and extensive arrangements, the impoverished are effectively excluded. The verse sets up a dharmic inquiry into forms of righteousness that remain attainable for all—especially the poor—such as charity, self-restraint, truthfulness, service, and inner purity.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira questions Bhīṣma on dharma and the means to attain merit. Here he observes that grand sacrifices demand many implements and provisions, so a poor person cannot realistically perform them or gain their fruits, prompting guidance toward more universally accessible paths of dharma.