Shloka 72
यक्षने पूछा--मनुष्यकी आत्मा क्या है? इसका दैवकृत सखा कौन है? इसका उपजीवन (जीवनका सहारा) क्या है? और इसका परम आश्रय क्या है? ।।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | putra ātmā manuṣyasya bhāryā daivakṛtaḥ sakhā | upajīvanaṃ ca parjanyo dānam asya parāyaṇam ||
یُدھِشٹھِر نے کہا—بیٹا انسان کا اپنا نفس ہے؛ بیوی اس کی تقدیر کی ٹھہرائی ہوئی ساتھی ہے۔ پَرجنیہ (بارش لانے والے بادل) اس کا ذریعۂ معاش ہیں، اور دان (سخاوت) اس کی اعلیٰ ترین پناہ ہے۔
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human flourishing rests on four supports: continuity and identity through a son (putra as ‘ātmā’), companionship through a wife as fate-ordained partner, material sustenance through rain (the foundation of agrarian life), and the deepest security through dāna—generosity, which is presented as the highest refuge in dharma.
In the Yakṣa-praśna episode of the Vana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira answers a series of probing questions posed by a Yakṣa. Here he responds by defining what counts as a person’s ‘self,’ companion, livelihood, and ultimate refuge—framing practical life and moral life together.