Shloka 6

Kṣātra-Dharma, Daṇḍanīti, and Social Order

Indra–Māndhātṛ Dialogue

Devanagari script

धर्माश्रमे5 ध्यवसिनां ब्राह्मणानां युधिष्ठिर । यथा त्रयाणां वर्णानां संख्यातोपश्रुति: पुरा,युधिष्ठिर! जैसे तीनों वर्णोंके धर्मोका पहले क्षत्रिय-धर्ममें अन्तर्भाव बताया गया है, उसी प्रकार नैछ्िक ब्रह्मचारी, वानप्रस्थ और यति--इन तीनों आश्रमोंमें स्थित ब्राह्मणोंके धर्मोंका गाहस्थ्याश्रममें समावेश होता है

Transliteration

dharmāśrame 'dhyavasināṃ brāhmaṇānāṃ yudhiṣṭhira | yathā trayāṇāṃ varṇānāṃ saṃkhyātopaśrutiḥ purā ||

Translation

Bhishma dit : Ô Yudhishthira, de même qu’autrefois la tradition faisant autorité enseigna que les devoirs des trois varṇa, selon un certain décompte, se rassemblent dans le dharma du kshatriya, de même les devoirs des brahmanes qui demeurent dans les trois āśrama—l’étudiant célibataire par choix, l’habitant de la forêt et le renonçant—sont compris dans l’état de maître de maison. La vie du foyer est ainsi présentée comme le centre qui soutient et intègre les autres disciplines.

Word by Word

धर्माश्रमेin the dharma-āśrama (i.e., in the gṛhastha-āśrama as the locus of dharma)

अध्यवसिनाम्of those who are settled/abiding (in it)

ब्राह्मणानाम्of the Brahmins

युधिष्ठिरO Yudhiṣṭhira

यथाjust as

त्रयाणाम्of the three

वर्णानाम्of the varṇas (social classes)

संख्यातdeclared/said/recognized

उपश्रुतिःa traditional report/teaching (heard tradition)

पुराformerly, in olden times

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Yudhishthira

Brahmins (brāhmaṇāḥ)

Three varṇas (trayāṇāṃ varṇānām)

Kshatriya-dharma (implied by the gloss)

Three āśramas: naiṣṭhika-brahmacarya, vānaprastha, yati/saṃnyāsa

Gārhasthya (householder āśrama)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts a hierarchical integration of duties: the householder stage (gārhasthya) is portrayed as the comprehensive support-system in which the disciplines and obligations of other āśramas (lifelong student, forest-dweller, renunciant) are, in effect, included—because society, ritual economy, and the maintenance of dharma depend upon householders.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma after the war, Bhishma continues advising King Yudhishthira. Here he cites older authoritative teaching (upaśruti) to explain how duties are classified and supported, emphasizing the centrality of the householder’s role in sustaining the broader religious-social order.