यक्षः
किम् स्वित् गुरुतरं भूमेः किं स्वित् उच्च्तरम् च खात्
किं स्वित् शीघ्रतरम् वायोः किं स्वित् बहुतरम् तृणात्
युधिष्टिरः
माता गुरुतरा भूमेः पिता उच्चतरश्च खात्
मनो शीघ्रतरम् वायोः चिन्ता बहुतरो तृणात्
yakṣaḥ
kim svit gurutaraṁ bhumeḥ kiṁ svit ucctaram ca khāt
kiṁ svit śīghrataram vāyoḥ kiṁ svit bahutaram tṛṇāt
yudhiṣṭiraḥ
mātā gurutarā bhūmeḥ pitā uccataraśca khāt
mano śīghrataram vāyoḥ cintā bahutaro tṛṇāt
महाभारतम् वनपर्वम् यक्षप्रश्न खण्ड २९७
mahābhāratam vanaparvam yakṣapraśna khaṇḍa 297
The Yaksha asked, 'What is weightier than the earth itself? What is higher than the heavens?' What is fleeter than the wind? And what is more numerous than grass?' Yudhishthira answered ''The mother is weightier than the earth; the father is higher than the heaven; the mind is fleeter than the wind; and our thoughts are more numerous than grass.
(translation of Kisar Mohan Ganguly) The pandavas are driven to forests by the machinations of the Kauravas and one day yudhistira the eldest Pandava, feeling thirsty, sent his youngest brother Sahadeva to fetch water from a lake which he found during their wanderings. Sahadeva approached the lake and. a Crane which was sitting nearby. warned that if he were to take water from the lake first he should answer some questions to be put forth by the Crane (This Crane later manifested as a Yaksha, but in fact, it was Lord Yamadharma himself in disguise). Sahadeva ignored the Crane and fell dead on touching the water. Nakula, Arjuna and Bheemasena were also sent on the same mission and they also ignored the Crane-Yaksha and met with the same fate. Finally the King Yudishtira himself approached the lake and was confronted by the Yaksha (Crane). The wise king heeded to the queries of the Yaksha and answered them appropriately. This is the famous Yaksha Prasna part in Vanaparvam of Mahabharatham. The questions and answers have become eternal landmarks in Indian thought . The above quotation is of one of the questions of the Yaksha and the answer to it by Yudhistira. Many such questions were answered and the pleased Yaksha finally revealed his identity. He was none other than the Lord of death, Yamadharma himself who has come to test the mettle of his son Yudhistira. The mother is the weightiest object for anyone but it is not the physical weight but the weight of love, The father is tallest not because of the of the height measured by any rods but the father stands tall representing the ideal icon for uprightness, greatness and for all that is to be followed by a son. The human mind simply jumps from one thought to another in the shortest span of time and thus is moving faster than even the wind. And human thought are so many, and they are uncountable like leaves of grass growing on earth.
किम् स्वित् गुरुतरं भूमेः किं स्वित् उच्च्तरम् च खात्
किं स्वित् शीघ्रतरम् वायोः किं स्वित् बहुतरम् तृणात्
युधिष्टिरः
माता गुरुतरा भूमेः पिता उच्चतरश्च खात्
मनो शीघ्रतरम् वायोः चिन्ता बहुतरो तृणात्
yakṣaḥ
kim svit gurutaraṁ bhumeḥ kiṁ svit ucctaram ca khāt
kiṁ svit śīghrataram vāyoḥ kiṁ svit bahutaram tṛṇāt
yudhiṣṭiraḥ
mātā gurutarā bhūmeḥ pitā uccataraśca khāt
mano śīghrataram vāyoḥ cintā bahutaro tṛṇāt
महाभारतम् वनपर्वम् यक्षप्रश्न खण्ड २९७
mahābhāratam vanaparvam yakṣapraśna khaṇḍa 297
The Yaksha asked, 'What is weightier than the earth itself? What is higher than the heavens?' What is fleeter than the wind? And what is more numerous than grass?' Yudhishthira answered ''The mother is weightier than the earth; the father is higher than the heaven; the mind is fleeter than the wind; and our thoughts are more numerous than grass.
(translation of Kisar Mohan Ganguly) The pandavas are driven to forests by the machinations of the Kauravas and one day yudhistira the eldest Pandava, feeling thirsty, sent his youngest brother Sahadeva to fetch water from a lake which he found during their wanderings. Sahadeva approached the lake and. a Crane which was sitting nearby. warned that if he were to take water from the lake first he should answer some questions to be put forth by the Crane (This Crane later manifested as a Yaksha, but in fact, it was Lord Yamadharma himself in disguise). Sahadeva ignored the Crane and fell dead on touching the water. Nakula, Arjuna and Bheemasena were also sent on the same mission and they also ignored the Crane-Yaksha and met with the same fate. Finally the King Yudishtira himself approached the lake and was confronted by the Yaksha (Crane). The wise king heeded to the queries of the Yaksha and answered them appropriately. This is the famous Yaksha Prasna part in Vanaparvam of Mahabharatham. The questions and answers have become eternal landmarks in Indian thought . The above quotation is of one of the questions of the Yaksha and the answer to it by Yudhistira. Many such questions were answered and the pleased Yaksha finally revealed his identity. He was none other than the Lord of death, Yamadharma himself who has come to test the mettle of his son Yudhistira. The mother is the weightiest object for anyone but it is not the physical weight but the weight of love, The father is tallest not because of the of the height measured by any rods but the father stands tall representing the ideal icon for uprightness, greatness and for all that is to be followed by a son. The human mind simply jumps from one thought to another in the shortest span of time and thus is moving faster than even the wind. And human thought are so many, and they are uncountable like leaves of grass growing on earth.
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