Shloka 38
Vidyā–Avidyā and the Twenty-Fifth Principle
Sāṃkhya–Yoga Clarification
सर्वात्मनानुकुर्वीत गृहस्थ: कर्मनिश्चयम् । दाक्ष्येण हव्यकव्यार्थ स्वधर्मे विचरन् नृप,नरेश्वर! गृहस्थको सर्वथा अपने कर्तव्यका निश्चय करके स्वधर्मका पालन करते हुए कुशलतापूर्वक यज्ञ तथा श्राद्ध आदि कर्मोका अनुष्ठान करना चाहिये
sarvātmanānukurvīta gṛhasthaḥ karmaniścayam | dākṣyeṇa havyakavyārtha svadharme vicaran nṛpa naraśvara |
Parāśara said: “O king, lord among men, the householder should, with his whole being, firmly resolve upon his proper duties. While moving within his own dharma, he should skillfully carry out the rites meant for the gods and the ancestors—such as sacrifices and śrāddha—so that his life becomes steady, responsible, and beneficial to the sacred order.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that a householder must wholeheartedly commit to his prescribed duties and perform them with competence—especially the obligations toward gods (yajña/havya) and ancestors (śrāddha/kavya)—as an essential expression of svadharma.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, the sage Parāśara addresses a king, advising him on the proper conduct of the householder stage: firm resolve in duty and skillful performance of sacrificial and ancestral rites.