Shloka 35
Pratyakṣa–Āgama–Ācāra: Doubt, Proof, and the Practice of Dharma (प्रत्यक्ष–आगम–आचारविचारः)
राजानो राजतपूुत्राश्न निर्धना ये महाधना: । कर्मणा केन भगवनू् प्राप्रुवन्ति महाफलम्,भगवन्! जो राजा या राजकुमार हैं अथवा जो निर्धन या महाधनी हैं, वे किस कर्मके प्रभावसे महान् फलके भागी होते हैं?
rājāno rājaputrāś ca nirdhanā ye mahādhanāḥ | karmaṇā kena bhagavan prāpnuvanti mahāphalam, bhagavan ||
Umā thưa: “Bạch Thế Tôn! Các vua chúa và vương tử—cũng như người nghèo và kẻ cực giàu—nhờ loại hành động nào mà được hưởng quả báo lớn lao? Việc làm nào có sức mạnh đem lại quả lớn đến thế?”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry: social status (king/prince) and economic condition (poor/rich) are secondary to the decisive factor—karma. It asks which specific kind of righteous action is powerful enough to yield “mahā-phala,” emphasizing that ethical causality applies universally.
Maheśvara addresses the Lord with a question about the source of great spiritual or moral reward. The line functions as a prompt for the ensuing instruction: an explanation of which deeds (and with what intention) lead to the highest results, regardless of one’s worldly position.