Shloka 826

Adhyāya 208: Aṅgirasī-kanyāḥ

Enumeration of Aṅgiras’ daughters and attribute-names

Devanagari script

वेदोक्त: परमो धर्मो धर्मशास्त्रेषु चापर: । शिष्टाचारश्न शिष्टानां त्रिविधं धर्मलक्षणम्‌ | जिसका वेदोंमें वर्णन है, वह धर्मका पहला लक्षण है। धर्मशास्त्रोंमें जिसका प्रतिपादन किया गया है, वह धर्मका दूसरा लक्षण है और शिष्टाचार धर्मका तीसरा लक्षण है। इस प्रकार शिष्ट पुरुषोंने धर्मके तीन लक्षण स्वीकार किये हैं

Transliteration

vedoktaḥ paramo dharmo dharmaśāstreṣu cāparaḥ | śiṣṭācāraś ca śiṣṭānāṃ trividhaṃ dharmalakṣaṇam ||

Translation

The hunter said: “That dharma which is taught in the Veda is the highest mark of righteousness. That which is set forth in the Dharmaśāstras is another mark. And the established conduct of the cultured and disciplined (the śiṣṭas) is a third. Thus, the wise recognize three defining signs by which dharma is known and upheld.”

Word by Word

• {'vedoktaḥ': '‘spoken/declared in the Veda’

• Vedicly enjoined', 'paramaḥ': 'supreme, highest', 'dharmaḥ': 'righteousness

• moral and social order', 'dharmaśāstreṣu': 'in the Dharmaśāstras

• legal-ethical treatises', 'aparaḥ': 'another

• secondary (in relation to the highest)', 'śiṣṭācāraḥ': 'conduct/custom of the śiṣṭas

• refined, authoritative social practice', 'śiṣṭānām': 'of the śiṣṭas

• of the learned/virtuous/cultured people', 'trividham': 'threefold', 'dharmalakṣaṇam': 'a defining mark/criterion of dharma'}

Speaker

व्याध उवाच

Characters & Entities

• व्याध (Vyādha, the hunter)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is to be recognized through three authorities: (1) Vedic injunction (the highest), (2) Dharmaśāstra exposition, and (3) the lived, exemplary conduct of cultivated and virtuous people (śiṣṭācāra).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Vyādha’s instruction on dharma in Vana Parva, he explains how one should discern righteous conduct by appealing to scripture and to the practical standards embodied by respected, disciplined elders.