Shloka 23
Vasiṣṭha on Saṃsāra, Guṇas, and Misattributed Agency
Mahābhārata 12.292
पुरुषसिंह! अग्नि, आत्मा, माता, जन्म देनेवाले पिता तथा गुरु--इन सबकी यथायोग्य सेवा करनी चाहिये ।।
puruṣasiṃha! agniḥ, ātmā, mātā, janma-dātā pitā tathā guruḥ—eteṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ yathā-yogyaṃ sevā kartavyā. mānaṃ tyaktvā yo naro vṛddha-sevī vidvān klībaḥ paśyati prīti-yogāt; dākṣyeṇa hīno dharma-yukto na dāntaḥ loke'smin vai pūjyate sadbhir āryaḥ.
Parāśara dit : «Ô le meilleur des hommes, il faut rendre un service convenable—chacun selon la manière qui lui est due—au Feu, au Soi, à la mère, au père qui engendre et au maître. Celui qui renonce à l’orgueil et sert les anciens, qui est savant et sans attachement aux jouissances des sens, qui regarde tous les êtres avec bienveillance, qui est sans ruse intéressée, qui est voué au dharma et n’opprime ni ne blesse autrui—un tel homme est tenu pour noble en ce monde, et les vertueux l’honorent.»
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a hierarchy of reverence and ethical refinement: serve Fire (sacred duty), the Self (inner discipline), mother, father, and guru appropriately; abandon pride; honor elders; cultivate learning, freedom from sensual attachment, goodwill toward all, straightforwardness (not calculating cunning), commitment to dharma, and non-oppression. Such a person becomes truly noble and is honored by the virtuous.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, the sage Parāśara addresses a ‘best of men’ and lays down practical marks of an exemplary person—defined not by power or status but by service, humility, benevolence, and harmlessness—framing these as standards by which society rightly honors someone.