Shloka 5
गृहमेधिव्रतान्यत्र महान्तीह प्रचक्षते । नात्मार्थे पाचयेदन्नं न वृथा घातयेत् पशून्,गृहस्थोंके लिये शास्त्रोंमें बहुत-से श्रेष्ठ नियम बताये गये हैं। वह केवल अपने ही भोजनके लिये रसोई न बनावे (अपितु देवता, पितर और अतिथियोंके उद्देश्यसे ही बनावे) और पशुहिंसा न करे, क्योंकि यह अनर्थमूलक है
gṛhamedhivratāny atra mahāntīha pracakṣate | nātmārthe pācayed annaṃ na vṛthā ghātayet paśūn |
Vyāsa said: “Here, the scriptures proclaim many great observances for the householder. One should not cook food merely for one’s own sake; and one should not kill animals without purpose, for such violence is rooted in futility and leads to harm.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that a householder’s life is governed by elevated disciplines: food should not be prepared only for oneself but in a spirit of offering and sharing (aligned with duties toward gods, ancestors, and guests), and one should avoid gratuitous killing of animals, since purposeless violence is ethically destructive.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Vyāsa is laying down normative rules for the gṛhastha (householder) stage of life, emphasizing social responsibility, sacrificial/hospitable orientation of daily living, and restraint from needless harm.