Shloka 7
भिक्षुलक्षणम्—एकचर्याः, अहिंसा, कैवल्याश्रमः
Marks of the Mendicant: Solitary Wandering, Non-Injury, and the Kaivalya-Discipline
कृष्यादीनीह कर्माणि सस्यसंहरणानि च । प्रज्ञावद्धिः प्रक्लृप्तानि यानासनगृहाणि च
kṛṣyādīnīha karmāṇi sasyasaṁharaṇāni ca | prajñāvaddhiḥ praklṛptāni yānāsanagṛhāṇi ca ||
Vyāsa said: Here in the world, works such as ploughing and other agricultural tasks, the gathering and storing of grain, and also the making and use of conveyances, seats, and houses are all arranged and carried out by intelligent, conscious beings. If these activities were produced automatically by mere nature, no one would deliberately undertake them. Thus it is clear that behind human livelihood and social order stand purposeful effort and discerning intellect, not blind spontaneity.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse argues for intentional human agency: essential worldly activities (farming, storing grain, building homes, making conveyances) are not automatic products of nature but are organized through intelligence and deliberate effort. Hence responsibility and purposeful action are central to sustaining life and society.
Vyāsa is explaining, in a reflective teaching context of Śānti Parva, that everyday civilization—food production, storage, transport, and shelter—depends on conscious planning by intelligent beings, reinforcing a moral-philosophical point about effort, choice, and accountability.