Shloka 19
Cāturāśramya-dharma—Marks of the Four Āśramas (चातुराश्रम्यधर्मः)
पितृयज्ञास्तथा कृपा: प्रपाश्ष शयनानि च । दानानि च यथाकाल द्विजेभ्यो विसृजेत् सदा
pitṛyajñās tathā kṛpāḥ prapāś śayanāni ca | dānāni ca yathākālaṃ dvijebhyo visṛjet sadā ||
Indra said: “One should continually uphold the duties that sustain society and honor the ancestors—performing offerings to the Pitṛs, showing compassion, establishing public water-supplies, providing resting-places and beds for travelers, and giving gifts at the proper times to the twice-born (Brahmins). Such timely charity and public beneficence are enduring forms of dharma.”
इन्द्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is expressed through sustained, timely beneficence: honoring ancestors (pitṛyajña/śrāddha), practicing compassion, creating public utilities like water-stations and lodging, and giving appropriate gifts—especially to dvijas—at the right time.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Indra speaks as a moral authority, enumerating concrete duties and charitable works that uphold social order and generate lasting merit.