Shloka 14
कालनिर्देशः शोकनिवारणं च
Instruction on Kāla and the Removal of Grief
भारत! अपने धर्मको त्याग देना और दूसरेके धर्मका आचरण करना, यज्ञके अनधिकारीको यज्ञ कराना तथा अभक्ष्य भक्षण करना, शरणागतका त्याग करना और भरण करने योग्य व्यक्तियोंका भरण-पोषण न करना, एवं रसोंको बेचना, पशु-पक्षियोंको मारना और शक्ति रहते हुए भी अग्न्याधान आदि कर्मोको न करना, नित्य देने योग्य गोग्रास आदि को न देना, ब्राह्मणोंको दक्षिणा न देना और उनका सर्वस्व छीन लेना, धर्मतत्त्वके जाननेवालोंने ये सभी कर्म न करने योग्य बताये हैं ।। पित्रा विवदते पुत्रो यश्व स्थाद् गुरुतल्पग: । अप्रजायन् नरव्याप्र भवत्यधार्मिको नर:,राजन! जो पुरुष पिताके साथ झगड़ा करता है, गुरुकी शय्यापर सोता है, ऋतुकालमें भी अपनी पत्नीके साथ समागम नहीं करता है, वह मनुष्य अधार्मिक होता है
bhārata! svadharma-tyāgaḥ paradharma-anuṣṭhānam, ayajñasya yajña-kāraṇam, abhakṣya-bhakṣaṇam, śaraṇāgata-tyāgaḥ, bharaṇīyānāṁ abharaṇam, rasānāṁ vikrayaḥ, paśu-pakṣi-vadhaḥ, śakti-sati api agnyādhānādi-karma-akaraṇam, nitya-deya-gogrāsādi-adānam, brāhmaṇebhyo dakṣiṇā-adānam, teṣāṁ sarvasva-haraṇam—dharmatattva-vidaḥ etāni sarvāṇi akaraṇīyāni āhuḥ ||
pitrā vivadate putro yaś ca syād gurutalpagaḥ |
aprajāyan nara-vyāghra bhavaty adhārmiko naraḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “O Bhārata, abandoning one’s own rightful duty and taking up another’s; making an unqualified person perform a sacrifice; eating what is forbidden; forsaking one who has sought refuge; failing to maintain those who ought to be supported; trading in intoxicating ‘juices’ and the like; killing beasts and birds; neglecting rites such as establishing the sacred fires even when one has the means; withholding daily offerings such as the cow’s portion; refusing sacrificial fees to Brahmins and even seizing their entire livelihood—those who know the principles of dharma declare all these to be acts that must not be done. And, O king: the man who quarrels with his father, who violates the teacher’s bed, and who—though the proper season has come—does not approach his wife for progeny, becomes an unrighteous man.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse lists concrete actions that violate dharma: abandoning one’s rightful duty, enabling unqualified ritual acts, consuming forbidden food, betraying refuge-seekers, neglecting dependents and daily obligations, engaging in harmful or prohibited trades and violence, and exploiting Brahmins. It then highlights three personal transgressions—quarreling with one’s father, violating the guru’s bed, and refusing conjugal duty for progeny in season—as marks of an adhārmika (unrighteous) person.
In Śānti-parvan’s instruction on righteous conduct after the war, Vyāsa addresses the king (Bhārata) and enumerates behaviors condemned by knowers of dharma, moving from social/ritual failures to intimate moral breaches that undermine family order, teacher-student sanctity, and household continuity.