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 ||
Yudhiṣṭhira thưa: “Nhờ phương cách nào người ta được giải thoát khỏi phi pháp, và làm sao đạt được dharma? Hỡi bậc ưu tú của dòng Bharata, bằng cách nào người ta được phúc đức và lên cõi trời?”
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.