Shloka 60
Āśrama-dharma: Duties of the Four Life-Stages (आश्रमधर्मः)
इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि वर्णाश्रमधर्मकथने षष्टितमो5 ध्याय:
iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi rājadharmānuśāsanaparvaṇi varṇāśramadharmakathane ṣaṣṭitamo 'dhyāyaḥ |
Ainsi, dans le Śrī Mahābhārata, au sein du Śānti Parva — plus précisément dans la section d’instruction sur le devoir royal — s’achève le soixantième chapitre, consacré à l’exposé des devoirs des varṇa et des āśrama (ordres sociaux et étapes de la vie).
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
This verse functions as a colophon marking the completion of a chapter devoted to varṇāśrama-dharma within the broader instruction on rājadharma. The ethical emphasis is that governance and social order are framed through dharma, articulated via duties appropriate to social roles (varṇa) and life-stages (āśrama).
Bhīṣma’s discourse to Yudhiṣṭhira continues in the Śānti Parva. Here the text signals that the chapter on explaining varṇa- and āśrama-based duties has concluded, transitioning to the next unit of instruction.