Shloka 23
Vasiṣṭha on Saṃsāra, Guṇas, and Misattributed Agency
Mahābhārata 12.292
पुरुषसिंह! अग्नि, आत्मा, माता, जन्म देनेवाले पिता तथा गुरु--इन सबकी यथायोग्य सेवा करनी चाहिये ।।
puruṣasiṃha! agniḥ, ātmā, mātā, janma-dātā pitā tathā guruḥ—eteṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ yathā-yogyaṃ sevā kartavyā. mānaṃ tyaktvā yo naro vṛddha-sevī vidvān klībaḥ paśyati prīti-yogāt; dākṣyeṇa hīno dharma-yukto na dāntaḥ loke'smin vai pūjyate sadbhir āryaḥ.
Parāśara said: “O best of men, one should render fitting service—each in the proper manner—to Fire, the Self, one’s mother, the father who gives birth, and one’s teacher. The person who abandons pride and serves the elders, who is learned and free from attachment to sensual indulgence, who looks upon all with goodwill, who is without crafty self-seeking, who is devoted to dharma and does not oppress or harm others—such a person is regarded as noble in this world, and is honored by the virtuous.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a hierarchy of reverence and ethical refinement: serve Fire (sacred duty), the Self (inner discipline), mother, father, and guru appropriately; abandon pride; honor elders; cultivate learning, freedom from sensual attachment, goodwill toward all, straightforwardness (not calculating cunning), commitment to dharma, and non-oppression. Such a person becomes truly noble and is honored by the virtuous.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, the sage Parāśara addresses a ‘best of men’ and lays down practical marks of an exemplary person—defined not by power or status but by service, humility, benevolence, and harmlessness—framing these as standards by which society rightly honors someone.