Vamana Purana — Sukesha's Boon & Twelve Dharmas, Shloka 10
Sukesha’s Boon, the Twelve Dharmas of Beings, and the Cosmography of the Seven Dvipas with the Twenty-One Hells
किंस्विच्छ्रेयः परे लोके किमु चेह द्विजोत्तमाः केन पूज्यस्तथा सत्सु केनासौ सुखमेधते
kiṃsvicchreyaḥ pare loke kimu ceha dvijottamāḥ kena pūjyastathā satsu kenāsau sukhamedhate
“来世之中，究竟何者为至善？此世之中，又何者为至善？噫，诸最胜二生者（dvija）！凭何而于善人中受敬奉？又凭何而于安乐中兴盛？”
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FAQs
The verse frames a classic dharma-question: what brings enduring welfare both here and hereafter, and what makes a person truly worthy of honor among the virtuous. It signals that mere worldly success is insufficient unless aligned with śreyas (lasting good).
This is best categorized under dharma-upadeśa within narrative dialogue rather than core cosmological lakṣaṇas. In pañcalakṣaṇa terms, it is adjacent to ācāra/dharma instruction embedded in itihāsa-style narration, not sarga/pratisarga proper.
By pairing ‘here’ and ‘hereafter,’ the text symbolically binds artha/kāma to dharma and mokṣa-oriented values. ‘Worthy of worship among the good’ implies that social honor is ideally governed by sat (virtue/truth), not power or birth alone.