Shloka 3

Āśā-prabhava (आशाप्रभव) — On the Rise and Power of Hope/Expectation

Sumitra Itihāsa Begins

Devanagari script

कथं तत्‌ प्राप्पते शीलं श्रोतुमिच्छामि भारत । किंलक्षणं च तत्‌ प्रोक्तं ब्रूहि मे वदतां वर

Transliteration

kathaṁ tat prāpyate śīlaṁ śrotum icchāmi bhārata | kiṁlakṣaṇaṁ ca tat proktaṁ brūhi me vadatāṁ vara bhārata ||

Translation

尤提士提罗问道：“噢，婆罗多后裔！我愿听闻：这高贵的戒行（śīla）如何得来？又依所传教法，它以何等特征为标志？噢，诸说法者中最善者，请告知我——噢，婆罗多！”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'katham', 'meaning': 'how?'}, {'term': 'tat', 'meaning': 'that (i.e., the subject under discussion)'}, {'term': 'prāpyate', 'meaning': 'is attained, is obtained'}, {'term': 'śīlam', 'meaning': 'good character

• habitual virtue'}, {'term': 'śrotum icchāmi', 'meaning': 'I wish to hear'}, {'term': 'bhārata', 'meaning': 'O Bhārata (descendant of Bharata

• an address to the interlocutor)'}, {'term': 'kiṁ-lakṣaṇam', 'meaning': 'what characteristic marks? what defining features?'}, {'term': 'proktam', 'meaning': 'declared, taught, stated'}, {'term': 'brūhi me', 'meaning': 'tell me'}, {'term': 'vadatāṁ vara', 'meaning': 'best among speakers'}]

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Bhārata (epithet/address)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames an ethical inquiry: true virtue (śīla) is not merely praised but must be understood in two ways—its means of attainment (how one cultivates it) and its lakṣaṇa (the observable signs by which genuine character is recognized).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Yudhiṣṭhira respectfully questions the elder teacher (implicitly Bhīṣma) and requests a clear account of how moral character is acquired and how it is defined, signaling a shift from grief and aftermath of war to systematic dharma-teaching.