Shloka 2
मांसपरिवर्जन-प्रशंसा (Praise of Abstention from Meat) / Ethics of Ahiṃsā in Diet and Rite
कृत्वा कर्माणि पापानि कथं यान्ति शुभां गतिम् । कर्मणा च कृतेनेह केन यान्ति शुभां गतिम्,मनुष्य पाप कर्म करके कैसे शुभगतिको प्राप्त होते हैं तथा किस कर्मके अनुष्ठानसे उन्हें उत्तम गति प्राप्त होती है?
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
kṛtvā karmāṇi pāpāni kathaṃ yānti śubhāṃ gatim |
karmaṇā ca kṛtenehā kena yānti śubhāṃ gatim ||
Yudhiṣṭhira thưa: “Đã làm các nghiệp tội, con người làm sao đạt được một cảnh giới tốt lành? Và ngay trong đời này, nhờ thực hành loại hành động nào mà họ vẫn có thể đạt đến một trạng thái phúc lành?”
युधिछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-question about moral recovery: even after committing pāpa (sinful actions), what righteous practice or discipline can lead a person toward śubhā gati (an auspicious end). It sets up the doctrine that ethical transformation and prescribed remedies (such as repentance, charity, vows, devotion, truthfulness, and self-restraint—depending on the ensuing discourse) can redirect one’s karmic trajectory.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-setting, Yudhiṣṭhira—concerned with the consequences of wrongdoing and the possibility of purification—asks an elder authority for guidance on how sinners may still attain a good destiny and what concrete actions in this life lead to that outcome.