Shloka 8
Brāhmaṇa-Dharma, Āśrama Eligibility, and the Primacy of Rāja-Dharma (Śānti Parva 63)
जो ब्राह्मण यज्ञ करना-कराना, विद्या पढ़ना-पढ़ाना तथा दान लेना और देना--इन छ: कर्मामें ही प्रवृत्त होता है, चारों आश्रमोंमें स्थित हो उनके सम्पूर्ण धर्मोका पालन करता है, धर्ममय कवचसे सुरक्षित होता है और मनको वशमें किये रहता है, जिसके मनमें कोई कामना नहीं होती, जो बाहर-भीतरसे शुद्ध, तपस्यापरायण और उदार होता है, उसे अविनाशी लोक प्राप्त होते हैं ।। यो यस्मिन् कुरुते कर्म यादृशं येन यत्र च । तादृशं तादृशेनैव स गुणं प्रतिपद्यते,जो पुरुष जिस अवस्थामें, जिस देश अथवा कालमें, जिस उद्देश्यसे जैसा कर्म करता है, वह (उसी अवस्थामें वैसे ही देश अथवा कालमें) वैसे भावसे उस कर्मका वैसा ही फल पाता है
yo brāhmaṇaḥ yajñaṃ karoti kārayati, vidyāṃ paṭhati pāṭhayati, dānaṃ gṛhṇāti dadāti—imeṣu ṣaṭsu karmasu eva pravṛttaḥ san, caturṣu āśrameṣu sthitaḥ sarveṣāṃ dharmāṇāṃ pālanaṃ karoti; dharmamaya-kavacena saṃrakṣitaḥ, manaḥ vaśīkṛtya vartate; yasya manasi kācanāpi kāmanā na vidyate; yaḥ bahiḥ-antaḥ-śuddhaḥ, tapasvī, udāraś ca—sa avināśān lokān prāpnoti. yo yasmin kurute karma yādṛśaṃ yena yatra ca, tādṛśaṃ tādṛśenaiva sa guṇaṃ pratipadyate.
Yudhiṣṭhira asks about the one who lives as a true brāhmaṇa: devoted to the six traditional duties—performing and officiating sacrifices, studying and teaching sacred knowledge, receiving and giving gifts—while faithfully observing the full disciplines of the four āśramas. Protected as if by an armor made of dharma, self-controlled, free from desire, pure within and without, devoted to austerity, and generous, such a person attains imperishable worlds. He further reflects on moral causality: whatever action a person performs—of whatever kind, by whatever means, and in whatever situation—he meets a corresponding result, shaped by that very quality and intention.
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A life grounded in dharma—expressed through disciplined duties, purity, generosity, and mastery of the mind—leads to enduring spiritual attainment; and actions yield results that correspond to their quality, intention, and context.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-setting, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates (as a question/statement within the dialogue) the marks of an ideal brāhmaṇa and then generalizes the principle of karmic correspondence: the fruit of an act matches the nature of the act and the agent’s disposition.