Shloka 2
मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity
न ते शक््या दरिद्रेण यज्ञा: प्राप्तुं पितामह । बहूपकरणा यज्ञा नानासम्भारविस्तरा:
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | na te śakyā daridreṇa yajñāḥ prāptuṃ pitāmaha | bahūpakaraṇā yajñā nānāsambhāravistarāḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira thưa: “Bạch Tổ phụ, người nghèo không thể đạt (quả) của những lễ tế ấy. Lễ tế cần nhiều pháp khí, và vì vô số thứ vật dụng cùng sự sắp đặt nên quy mô càng thêm rộng lớn.”
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.