यक्ष प्रश्न (yaksha prashna) is a profound piece in mahAbhArata that summarizes many key tenets of dharma. This is a humble attempt in detailing this great piece of spiritual and philosophical literature in the hope that this would reach a broad audience and provide food for thought and reflection.
As with most dharmic text, yaksha prashna has to be read in the context of other literature that it builds on and references, without which the meaning can get significantly distorted or at best, misunderstood. As we are not qualified enough to provide our own interpretation of this critical piece of work, we have instead relied on the discourses of eminent scholars in recent times across the various schools of sanAtana dharma - including sankara, rAmAnuja, and madhva, while taking some liberties in providing our own examples and highlights.
It is said that mahAbhArata can be understood in three levels at a minimum:
A literal / historic interpretation that talks about the war and the corresponding events
A philosophical / psychological interpretation that goes deep into the nature of the human psyche and existence
A spiritual interpretation that goes into the root cause of all creation
Where possible, an attempt has been made to bring out these three interpretations. A reader, based on their worldview, will hopefully gain additional insights that may strengthen, question, or expand their current understanding and provide an updated appreciation of the Indian literature.
In this conversation, 124 questions are asked in total by the yaksha to YudhishThira.