Shloka 15
Vasiṣṭha–Karāla-Janaka Saṃvāda: Aśuddha-Sevana, Guṇa-Dr̥ṣṭi, and Sāṃkhya–Yoga Ekārthatā
Mahābhārata 12.293
यश्न शुश्रूषते शूद्र: सततं नियतेन्द्रिय: । अतोडन्यथा मजनुष्येन्द्र स्वरर्मात् परिहीयते
yaś ca śuśrūṣate śūdraḥ satataṁ niyatendriyaḥ | ato ’nyathā manuṣyendra svarmāt parihīyate ||
Parāśara said: “But the Śūdra who continually serves (the higher orders) with disciplined senses does not fall away from the heavenly state. Otherwise, O best of men, he is deprived of that reward.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that disciplined, continual service (śuśrūṣā) performed with self-control is presented as a dharmic path that yields heavenly merit; neglecting this prescribed conduct results in losing that reward.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Parāśara is explaining norms of conduct and their karmic outcomes, addressing a ‘best of men’ interlocutor and stating the consequence—attainment or loss of svarga—based on adherence to the described duty.