Shloka 2
कामबन्धन-निवृत्ति तथा शान्तिलक्षण-उपदेशः | Release from Desire-Bondage and the Marks of Peace
गृहस्थवृत्तयश्वैव चतस्र: कविशि: स्मृता: । कुसूलधान्य: प्रथम: कुम्भधान्यस्त्वनन्तरम्
gṛhasthavṛttayaś caiva catasraḥ kavibhiḥ smṛtāḥ | kusūladhānyaḥ prathamaḥ kumbhadhānyas tv anantaram ||
Vyāsa said: The sages have remembered four distinct modes of livelihood for a householder. Of these, the first is the “granary-stored” householder, and next comes the “jar-stored” householder.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse classifies traditional householder livelihoods into four types, beginning with those who store grain in a granary and those who store it in jars—introducing a graded discussion of how a gṛhastha manages resources and sustains life in a dharmic way.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Vyāsa begins enumerating the recognized categories of gṛhastha conduct (vṛtti), naming the first two types and setting up the continuation where the remaining types and their ethical implications are explained.