Shloka 65

Devanagari script

इदं तु दुष्करं कर्म कुटुम्बमभिसंश्रितम्‌ । दानमध्ययनं यज्ञ: प्रजासंतानमार्जवम्‌,गृहस्थाश्रमके अनुसार जो यह कुट॒म्बके भरण-पोषणसे सम्बन्ध रखनेवाला कार्य है तथा दान, स्वाध्याय, यज्ञ, संतानोत्पादन एवं सदा सरल और कोमल भावसे बर्ताव करना रूप जो कर्म है, यह सब मनुष्यके लिये अत्यन्त दुष्कर है

Transliteration

idaṃ tu duṣkaraṃ karma kuṭumbam abhisaṃśritam | dānam adhyayanaṃ yajñaḥ prajā-santānam ārjavam ||

Translation

Kapila said: “This, however, is a difficult discipline—life anchored in a household. The duties of giving, self-study, sacrifice, begetting and sustaining offspring, and maintaining straightforwardness (gentle integrity) in one’s conduct—these are exceedingly hard for a person to carry out.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'idaṃ', 'definition': 'this (the following teaching/duty)'}, {'term': 'tu', 'definition': 'however

• but (marks contrast/emphasis)'}, {'term': 'duṣkaram', 'definition': 'difficult to do

• hard to accomplish'}, {'term': 'karma', 'definition': 'duty

• disciplined practice'}, {'term': 'kuṭumbam', 'definition': 'household

• dependents'}, {'term': 'abhisaṃśritam', 'definition': 'resorted to

• grounded in'}, {'term': 'dānam', 'definition': 'giving

• generosity'}, {'term': 'adhyayanam', 'definition': 'study (especially Vedic/self-study)

• recitation and learning'}, {'term': 'yajñaḥ', 'definition': 'sacrifice

• sacred duty performed for order and welfare'}, {'term': 'prajā-santānam', 'definition': 'progeny and continuity of the family line

• begetting/raising children'}, {'term': 'ārjavam', 'definition': 'straightforwardness

Speaker

कपिल उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Kapila

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Kapila emphasizes that the householder path is not spiritually inferior but practically demanding: sustaining a family while also fulfilling generosity, disciplined study, sacrificial responsibility, raising progeny, and maintaining honest, gentle integrity is exceptionally hard.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instructional dialogue, Kapila is explaining dharma by evaluating life-paths (āśramas). Here he highlights the weight of gṛhastha obligations—both social and spiritual—showing why household life requires great steadiness and virtue.