Shloka 5
उपवासफलात्मकविधिः — Upavāsa as Yajña-Equivalent Merit
Angiras Teaching
अधर्मान्मुच्यते केन धर्ममाप्नोति वा कथम् | स्वर्ग पुण्यं च लभते कथं भरतसत्तम
adharmān mucyate kena dharmam āpnoti vā katham | svargaṁ puṇyaṁ ca labhate kathaṁ bharatasattama ||
یُدھِشٹھِر نے کہا—اے بھرتश्रेष्ठ! انسان کس ذریعے سے اَدھرم سے چھوٹتا ہے اور کس طرح دھرم کو پاتا ہے؟ وہ سوَرگ اور پُنّیہ کیسے حاصل کرتا ہے؟
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the central ethical inquiry of the Anuśāsana Parva: the practical means to abandon adharma and establish oneself in dharma, and how right conduct yields puṇya and the fruit of svarga. It sets up a discussion of moral causality—actions and character leading to spiritual and social outcomes.
Yudhiṣṭhira, seeking guidance after the great war, asks an elder/authority figure (addressed as “best of the Bharatas”) for instruction on the path from wrongdoing to righteousness and the attainment of merit and heaven. The verse functions as a formal question introducing a didactic response.