Shloka 6
भिक्षुलक्षणम्—एकचर्याः, अहिंसा, कैवल्याश्रमः
Marks of the Mendicant: Solitary Wandering, Non-Injury, and the Kaivalya-Discipline
स्वभावो हि विनाशाय मोहकर्म मनोभव: । निरुक्तमेतयोरेतत् स््वभावपरिभावयो:
svabhāvo hi vināśāya mohakarma manobhavaḥ | niruktam etayor etat svabhāva-paribhāvayoḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “The doctrine of ‘mere nature’ (svabhāva) tends toward ruin; it is an action born of delusion, arising from the mind. This much has been stated about these two—svabhāva and paribhāva. Now listen to the further explanation of their true import.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vyāsa warns that explaining life solely through ‘svabhāva’ (nature alone) becomes a delusion-born stance that can lead to moral and spiritual ruin, because it undermines accountability, dharma, and the deeper causal order implied by karma and higher principles.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa is instructing the listener by introducing a discussion of two concepts—svabhāva and paribhāva—stating a preliminary judgment about svabhāva and then signaling that a fuller exposition will follow.