Shloka 10
Vasiṣṭha on Saṃsāra, Guṇas, and Misattributed Agency
Mahābhārata 12.292
स्वाध्यायेन महर्षिभ्यो देवेभ्यो यज्ञकर्मणा । पितृभ्य: श्राद्धदानेन नृणामभ्यर्चनेन च
svādhyāyena maharṣibhyo devebhyo yajñakarmaṇā | pitṛbhyaḥ śrāddhadānena nṛṇām abhyarcaneṇa ca ||
قال باراشارا: بتلاوة الفيدا ودراستها (سفادهيايا) يُقضى الدَّين للريشيّات العظام؛ وبشعائر القربان (اليَجْنَ) يُوفَّى حقّ الآلهة؛ وبقرابين الشرادها (śrāddha) وبالعطاء تُرضى الأرواح السلفية؛ وبإكرام الناس وخدمتهم—ولا سيما الضيوف—يتحرر المرء من الدَّين الذي عليه للبشر. وهكذا ينبغي أن تُعاش الحياة بوصفها سدادًا منضبطًا لهذه الالتزامات الأساسية.
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human life carries foundational obligations: to sages (through Vedic study), to gods (through yajña and sacred rites), to ancestors (through śrāddha and giving), and to fellow humans/guests (through honor, hospitality, and service). Fulfilling these is presented as a practical framework of dharma.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, the sage Parāśara enumerates the means by which one becomes free of the major ‘debts’ (ṛṇas) that bind a householder—linking learning, ritual, ancestral rites, charity, and hospitality into a single ethical program.