Shloka 3
Gṛhastha-vṛtti and Niyama: Models of Householder Livelihood and Discipline (गृहस्थवृत्ति-नियमाः)
सत्त्ववन्तो महाभागा: पश्यन्ति प्रभवाप्ययौ | एवं धर्मेण वर्तेत क्रियां शिष्टवदाचरेत्,जो लोग वेदोंके प्रवचनमें निपुण, अध्यात्मज्ञानमें कुशल, सत्त्वगुणसम्पन्न और महान् भाग्यशाली हैं, वे जगत्की सृष्टि और प्रलयको ठीक-ठीक जानते हैं; अतः ब्राह्मणको इस प्रकार धर्मानुकूल बर्ताव करते हुए शिष्ट पुरुषोंकी भाँति सदाचारका पालन करना चाहिये
sattvavanto mahābhāgāḥ paśyanti prabhavāpyayau | evaṃ dharmeṇa varteta kriyāṃ śiṣṭavad ācaret |
Vyāsa said: Those who are endowed with purity of being and blessed with great fortune perceive clearly the world’s arising and its dissolution. Therefore one should live in accordance with dharma, and perform one’s duties with the disciplined conduct of the cultured and exemplary.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
True ethical life is grounded in dharma and modeled on the conduct of śiṣṭas (cultured exemplars). Those established in sattva have clear insight into the transient nature of the world—its arising and dissolution—so one should perform duties and actions with disciplined, righteous propriety.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa delivers instruction emphasizing that spiritually refined and fortunate people discern cosmic processes (creation and dissolution). Using that insight as authority, he urges proper dharmic conduct and the imitation of exemplary social-ethical standards.