Shloka 40

अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः

Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving

Devanagari script

धर्मशास्त्राणि वेदाक्ष षडड़ानि नराधिप । श्रेयसो<र्थे विधीयन्ते नरस्याक्लिष्टकर्मण:,नरेश्वर! धर्मशास्त्र और छहों अंगोंसहित वेद पुण्यकर्म करनेवाले पुरुषके कल्याणके लिये ही कर्तव्यका विधान करते हैं

Transliteration

dharmaśāstrāṇi vedākṣa ṣaḍaṅgāni narādhipa | śreyaso 'rthe vidhīyante narasyākliṣṭakarmaṇaḥ || naraśvara ||

Translation

Parāśara sprach: „O König, die Dharmaśāstras und der Veda—zusammen mit seinen sechs Hilfsdisziplinen (vedāṅga)—legen die Regeln dessen fest, was zu tun ist, um des höchsten Wohls des Menschen willen, besonders für den, der rechtschaffene Taten ohne innere Bedrängnis und ohne schädliche Anstrengung vollbringt. Ihr Zweck ist nicht bloße rituelle Förmlichkeit, sondern das Wohl und die Erhebung des menschlichen Lebens.“

Word by Word

धर्मशास्त्राणिtreatises on dharma

वेदाःthe Vedas

अक्षO Ax(a) (as addressed)

षडङ्गानिthe six auxiliaries (Vedāṅgas)

नराधिपO lord of men (king)

श्रेयसःof welfare / of the good

अर्थेfor the purpose / in the matter

विधीयन्तेare prescribed / are laid down

नरस्यof a man

अक्लिष्टकर्मणःof one whose actions are not afflicted (i.e., of a virtuous doer)

नरेश्वरO king / lord of men

Speaker

पराशर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Parāśara

narādhipa (the king addressed)

Dharmaśāstra

Veda

Ṣ

Ṣaḍvedāṅga (six Vedāṅgas)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That Dharmaśāstra and the Veda (with its six Vedāṅgas) exist to prescribe conduct aimed at śreyas—the enduring welfare and moral uplift of a person—rather than being ends in themselves.

What is happening in the narrative?

Parāśara is instructing a king in the Śānti Parva, emphasizing the purpose of scriptural injunctions: to guide human action toward the highest good, especially for those committed to righteous, untroubled conduct.