Shloka 10
कालनिर्देशः शोकनिवारणं च
Instruction on Kāla and the Removal of Grief
स्वधर्मस्य परित्याग: परधर्मस्य च क्रिया । अयाज्ययाजनं चैव तथाभक्ष्यस्य भक्षणम्
svadharmasya parityāgaḥ paradharmasya ca kriyā | ayājyayājanaṃ caiva tathābhakṣyasya bhakṣaṇam |
Vyāsa said: “Abandoning one’s own rightful duty and instead performing another’s duty; officiating in sacrifices for those who are unfit to be served as patrons; and likewise consuming what is forbidden to eat—these are grave deviations from dharma.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns against key forms of adharma: giving up one’s own rightful duty, taking up another’s improper duty, performing priestly rites for unqualified patrons, and eating prohibited foods—each representing a breach of ethical and ritual boundaries meant to sustain social and spiritual order.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Vyāsa enumerates behaviors that constitute serious moral and ritual lapses, framing them as examples of how dharma is undermined when people violate their proper roles and restraints.