Shloka 3
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving
Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum
समृद्धौ वासमृद्धौ वा शुभे वा यदि वाशुभे । कारण तत्र मे ब्रूहि सर्वज्ञो हसि मे मत:
samṛddhau vāsamṛddhau vā śubhe vā yadi vāśubhe | kāraṇaṃ tatra me brūhi sarvajño ’si me mataḥ || prāṇī unnatiyā avanatiyā śubhayā aśubhayā kisī bhī avasthā meṃ maranā nahīṃ cāhate haiṃ | isakā kyā kāraṇa hai? etat me brūhi; kyoṃki meṃ dṛṣṭi meṃ āp sarvajña haiṃ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira thưa: “Dù trong phú quý hay bần hàn, dù gặp điều cát tường hay bất tường—xin Người nói cho con nguyên do: vì sao chúng sinh, trong mọi cảnh thăng trầm, may rủi, đều không muốn chết. Xin giải bày cho con, bởi con xem Người là bậc toàn tri.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a universal ethical-psychological problem: regardless of external conditions—wealth or poverty, auspiciousness or misfortune—beings cling to life and resist death. It invites reflection on attachment (rāga), self-preservation, and the deeper causes of fear and desire that dharma-discourse seeks to diagnose and remedy.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instructional setting, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a revered, ‘all-knowing’ teacher-figure and asks for the underlying reason that living beings do not want to die in any circumstance. The question sets up a philosophical explanation about the motives and bonds that keep beings attached to embodied existence.