Shloka 1
अश्वशिरो-आख्यानम्
Aśvaśiras / Hayaśiras Narrative: Retrieval of the Vedas
अफ-४#-का- - सत्त्वगगुण भी सुख और ज्ञानके सम्बन्धसे बाँधनेवाला होता है। “मैं सुखी हूँ
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | gṛhastho brahmacārī vā vānaprastho ’tha bhikṣukaḥ | ya icchet siddhim āsthātuṁ devatāṁ kāṁ yajeta saḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira thưa: “Bạch Tổ phụ! Dù là người tại gia, học trò giữ phạm hạnh, kẻ ở rừng, hay vị khất sĩ xuất gia—nếu muốn đạt thành tựu tâm linh, thì nên thờ phụng vị thần nào?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry: across all four āśramas (stages of life), the seeker’s goal is siddhi (true spiritual attainment), and the key practical question is whom to worship—implying that right devotion and right object of worship are central to progress, regardless of social stage.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Bhīṣma as ‘Pitamaha’ and asks for authoritative guidance: among householders, students, forest-dwellers, and renunciants, which deity should be worshipped by one who seeks the highest accomplishment.