Shloka 22

Devanagari script

गृहस्थाश्रमिणस्तच्च यज्ञकर्म विरोधकम्‌ | तस्माद्‌ गार्हस्थ्यमेवेह दुष्करं दुर्लभ तथा,वह यज्ञकर्म गृहस्थाश्रमी पुरुषको एक मर्यादाके भीतर बाँध रखनेवाला है; इसलिये गा्हस्थ्यधर्म ही इस संसारमें दुष्कर और दुर्लभ है

Transliteration

gṛhasthāśramiṇas tac ca yajñakarma virodhakam | tasmād gārhasthyam eveha duṣkaraṃ durlabhaṃ tathā ||

Translation

Nakula sprach: Für den, der im Hausstand lebt, wirken die Pflichten des Opferdienstes als Zügel: Sie setzen Grenzen und verlangen diszipliniertes Verhalten. Darum ist in dieser Welt der Lebensweg des Hausvaters wahrlich schwer zu bewahren und selten gut zu vollbringen.

Word by Word

गृहस्थाश्रमिणःhouseholders (those in the householder-āśrama)

तत्that

चand

यज्ञकर्मsacrificial duty/ritual action

विरोधकम्restricting; confining; obstructing

तस्मात्therefore; from that reason

गार्हस्थ्यम्the householder state/dharma

एवindeed; alone

इहhere; in this world

दुष्करम्difficult to do

दुर्लभम्hard to obtain; rare

तथाso; likewise

Speaker

नकुल उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nakula

gṛhastha-āśrama

yajña (sacrificial duty)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes that gārhasthya (householder life) is not merely comfort and family life; it is bound by yajña-karma and other duties that restrain personal freedom. Precisely because it demands sustained discipline and responsibility, it is considered difficult and rare to fulfill properly.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nakula is speaking within the Shānti Parva’s dharma-discourse, reflecting on the āśrama system. He highlights the demanding nature of the householder stage, where ritual and social obligations regulate one’s conduct and make the path challenging.