Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, 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 ||
乌摩问曰：“世尊！诸王与王子，乃至贫者与巨富者，凭何种业行而得大果报？何等行为之力，能生如是广大之果？”
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.