Shloka 1
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
भजन आर (2) अजमनन- ३-श्रुति भी कहती है--'अशरीरं वावसन्तं न प्रियाप्रिये स््पृशत: ।/ २-आठ पुरियोंका बोधक वचन इस प्रकार उपलब्ध होता है-- भूतेन्द्रियमनोबुद्धिवासनाकर्मवायवः । अविद्या चेत्यमुं वर्गमाहु: पुर्यष्टक॑ बुधा: ।।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kim uttaraṁ tadā tau sama cakratus tasya bhāṣite | brāhmaṇo vāthavā rājā tan me brūhi pitāmaha ||
یُدھِشٹھِر نے کہا— اے پِتامہ! جب اُس کی بات پوری ہو گئی تو اُن دونوں نے—برہمن نے یا راجا نے—تب مل کر کیا جواب دیا؟ مہربانی فرما کر مجھے بتائیے۔
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical inquiry as careful listening to wise discourse and seeking the consequential response: Yudhiṣṭhira asks Bhīṣma to report how both a Brāhmaṇa and a king respond after hearing a teaching, highlighting that dharma and liberation are clarified through dialogue and tested by the reactions of different social roles.
Within the Mokṣadharma section, Yudhiṣṭhira continues questioning Bhīṣma about the Jāpaka–Ikṣvāku episode: after a speech has been delivered, he wants to know what the two principal interlocutors (the Brāhmaṇa and the king) said in reply, so the lesson’s outcome and resolution can be understood.