Shloka 60

Āśrama-dharma: Duties of the Four Life-Stages (आश्रमधर्मः)

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि वर्णाश्रमधर्मकथने षष्टितमो5 ध्याय:,इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ाा भारत शान्तिपर्वके अन्तर्गत राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वमें वर्णाश्रमधर्मका वर्णनविषयक साठवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi rājadharmānuśāsanaparvaṇi varṇāśramadharmakathane ṣaṣṭitamo 'dhyāyaḥ |

Translation

So endet im Śrī Mahābhārata, innerhalb des Śānti Parva — genauer im Abschnitt über die Unterweisung in der königlichen Pflicht — das sechzigste Kapitel, dessen Gegenstand die Darlegung der Pflichten von varṇa und āśrama (sozialen Ordnungen und Lebensstufen) ist.

Word by Word

इतिthus; so

श्रीauspicious; venerable (honorific)

महाभारतेin the Mahabharata

शान्तिपर्वणिin the Shanti Parva

राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणिin the Parva (section) of instruction on the king's duties

वर्णाश्रमधर्मकथनेin the narration/discussion of the duties of varnas and ashramas

षष्टितमःsixtieth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Mahābhārata

Śānti Parva

Rājadharmānuśāsana Parva

Varṇāśrama-dharma

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?

This verse functions as a colophon marking the completion of a chapter devoted to varṇāśrama-dharma within the broader instruction on rājadharma. The ethical emphasis is that governance and social order are framed through dharma, articulated via duties appropriate to social roles (varṇa) and life-stages (āśrama).

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma’s discourse to Yudhiṣṭhira continues in the Śānti Parva. Here the text signals that the chapter on explaining varṇa- and āśrama-based duties has concluded, transitioning to the next unit of instruction.