Shloka 6
Āśrama-dharma and Brahmacarya: Śuka’s Inquiry on Karma and Tyāga (शुक-प्रश्नः कर्मत्यागविवेकश्च)
गृहस्थस्त्वेष धर्माणां सर्वेषां मूलमुच्यते । यत्र पक्वकषायो हि दान्तः सर्वत्र सिध्यति
gṛhasthas tveṣa dharmāṇāṃ sarveṣāṃ mūlam ucyate | yatra pakvakaṣāyo hi dāntaḥ sarvatra sidhyati ||
গৃহস্থাশ্রমকেই সকল ধর্মের মূল বলা হয়েছে; কারণ এখানেই অন্তঃকরণের রাগাদি মল পরিপক্ব হয়ে দগ্ধ হয়, আর ইন্দ্রিয়সংযমী পুরুষ সর্বত্র সিদ্ধি লাভ করে।
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the gṛhastha-āśrama is the foundational support of all dharmas, because it sustains society and provides the practical field in which disciplined, sense-controlled living and inner purification can mature into comprehensive success in righteous life.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Vyāsa is presenting a doctrinal point about the hierarchy and function of the āśramas, emphasizing the householder stage as the base from which other modes of life and spiritual aims are supported and fulfilled.