Shloka 2
Adhyāya 290: Sāṃkhya-vidhi, Deha-doṣa, Guṇa-vicāra, and Mokṣa-gati
Bhīṣma–Yudhiṣṭhira Dialogue
कि कर्म पुरुष: कृत्वा शुभं पुरुषसत्तम | श्रेय: परमवाप्रोति प्रेत्य चेह च तद् वद,पुरुषप्रवर! इसीलिये मैं पूछता हूँ कि पुरुष कौन-सा शुभ कर्म करे तो इसे इस लोक और परलोकमें भी परम कल्याणकी प्राप्ति हो सकती है, यह मुझे बतानेकी कृपा करें
Bhīṣma uvāca: kiṁ karma puruṣaḥ kṛtvā śubhaṁ puruṣasattama | śreyaḥ param avāpnoti pretya ceha ca tad vada ||
Bhishma nói: “Hỡi bậc ưu tú nhất trong loài người, một người nên làm việc thiện lành nào để đạt được điều thiện tối thượng—cả sau khi chết lẫn ngay trong đời này? Xin hãy nói cho ta biết.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a central dharma-inquiry: identifying the single most auspicious and ethically potent action (karma) that yields the highest welfare (śreyas) both in worldly life and after death. It sets up instruction on right conduct by linking moral action with comprehensive well-being across both realms.
In the Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Bhīṣma speaks as a teacher and asks an exemplary interlocutor (“best of men”) to state which good deed leads to supreme benefit here and in the afterlife, thereby initiating or continuing a discourse on dharma and the means to ultimate welfare.