Shloka 6

Gārhasthya-Śreṣṭhatā and Kṣatriya-Daṇḍadhāraṇa

Householder Primacy and the Royal Duty of Punishment

Devanagari script

सो<यं चतुर्णामेतेषामाश्रमाणां दुराचर: । तं चराद्य विधिं पार्थ दुश्नरं दुर्बलेन्द्रिये:,युधिष्ठिर! चारों आश्रमोंमें यह गृहस्थाश्रम ही ऐसा है, जिसका ठीक-ठीक पालन करना बहुत कठिन है। जिनकी इन्द्रियाँ दुर्बल हैं, उनके द्वारा गृहस्थ-धर्मका आचरण दुष्कर है। तुम अब उसी दुष्कर धर्मका पालन करो

Transliteration

so ’yaṁ caturṇām eteṣām āśramāṇāṁ durācaraḥ | taṁ carādya vidhiṁ pārtha duṣkaraṁ durbalendriyaiḥ, yudhiṣṭhira |

Translation

Vyāsa dit : « Parmi ces quatre étapes de la vie, la discipline du maître de maison est assurément la plus difficile à pratiquer avec droiture. Pour ceux dont les sens sont faibles et se laissent aisément subjuguer, la conduite du gṛhastha-dharma devient plus ardue encore. C’est pourquoi, ô Pārtha — ô Yudhiṣṭhira — entreprends maintenant et vis selon cette règle même, si exigeante. »

Word by Word

• {'so ’yam': 'this indeed

• this very (one)', 'caturṇām': 'of the four', 'eteṣām': 'of these', 'āśramāṇām': 'of the āśramas

• stages/orders of life (brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, saṁnyāsa)', 'durācaraḥ': 'hard to practice

• difficult to carry out properly', 'taṁ': 'that (discipline/dharma)', 'cara': 'practice

• conduct yourself (imperative sense)', 'adya': 'now

• at this point', 'vidhim': 'rule

• ordinance (of dharma)', 'pārtha': 'son of Pṛthā

• an epithet of a Pāṇḍava (here used as an address)', 'duṣkaram': 'difficult

• arduous', 'durbalendriyaiḥ': 'by/for those with weak senses

• whose sense-control is fragile', 'yudhiṣṭhira': 'Yudhiṣṭhira (addressed directly)'}

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Pārtha
• catur-āśrama (the four āśramas)
• gṛhastha-āśrama (householder stage)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that among the four āśramas, the gṛhastha (householder) path is especially hard because it demands sustained sense-control while engaging with wealth, family, and social obligations; therefore one must consciously undertake its discipline as a serious dharmic practice.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira in Śānti Parva on dharma and the āśrama system, emphasizing the difficulty of properly living the householder stage and urging him to follow that demanding code despite its challenges.