Shloka 3
स्वधर्म चर धर्मज्ञ यथाशास्त्रं यथाविधि । न हि गार्हस्थ्यमुत्सृज्य तवारण्यं विधीयते,धर्मज्ञ युधिष्ठिर! तुम शास्त्रके कथनानुसार विधिपूर्वक स्वधर्मका ही आचरण करो। तुम्हारे लिये गृहस्थ-आश्रमको छोड़कर वनमें जानेका विधान नहीं है
svadharma cara dharmajña yathāśāstraṃ yathāvidhi | na hi gārhasthyam utsṛjya tavāraṇyaṃ vidhīyate, dharmajña yudhiṣṭhira ||
Vyāsa said: “O knower of dharma, practice your own ordained duty in the manner taught by the śāstras and according to proper procedure. For you, O dharma-knowing Yudhiṣṭhira, there is no injunction that you should abandon the householder’s station and take to the forest.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should follow one’s svadharma as laid down by śāstra and proper procedure; renunciation (forest-life) is not automatically the right path—especially for a ruler whose obligations lie in sustaining social order through responsible householdership and governance.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Vyāsa counsels Yudhiṣṭhira, who is burdened by moral anguish, not to abandon his worldly station for the forest but to fulfill his prescribed duties in accordance with scriptural guidance.