Shloka 6
Kṣātra-Dharma, Daṇḍanīti, and Social Order
Indra–Māndhātṛ Dialogue
धर्माश्रमे5 ध्यवसिनां ब्राह्मणानां युधिष्ठिर । यथा त्रयाणां वर्णानां संख्यातोपश्रुति: पुरा
dharmāśrame 'dhyavasināṃ brāhmaṇānāṃ yudhiṣṭhira | yathā trayāṇāṃ varṇānāṃ saṃkhyātopaśrutiḥ purā ||
Bhishma sprach: O Yudhishthira, wie einst die maßgebliche Überlieferung lehrte, dass die Pflichten der drei Varṇas nach einer bestimmten Zählung im Dharma des Kshatriya zusammenlaufen, so werden auch die Pflichten der Brahmanen, die in den drei Āśramas verweilen—der freiwillig zölibatäre Schüler, der Waldbewohner und der Entsagende—im Stand des Hausvaters umfasst. So wird das Leben des Gṛhastha als tragendes Zentrum dargestellt, das die anderen Übungen stützt und in sich vereint.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a hierarchical integration of duties: the householder stage (gārhasthya) is portrayed as the comprehensive support-system in which the disciplines and obligations of other āśramas (lifelong student, forest-dweller, renunciant) are, in effect, included—because society, ritual economy, and the maintenance of dharma depend upon householders.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma after the war, Bhishma continues advising King Yudhishthira. Here he cites older authoritative teaching (upaśruti) to explain how duties are classified and supported, emphasizing the centrality of the householder’s role in sustaining the broader religious-social order.