Shloka 6
Cāturāśramya-dharma—Marks of the Four Āśramas (चातुराश्रम्यधर्मः)
सर्वोद्योगैराश्रमं धर्ममाहु: क्षात्रं श्रेष्ठ सर्वधर्मोपपन्नम् । स्व॑ स्व॑ धर्म येन चरन्ति वर्णा- स्तांस्तान् धमनन्यथार्थान् वदन्ति
sarvodyogair āśramaṃ dharmam āhuḥ kṣātraṃ śreṣṭhaṃ sarvadharmopapannam | svaṃ svaṃ dharmaṃ yena caranti varṇās tāṃs tān dharmān anyathārthān vadanti ||
Indra dit : «Par toute forme d’effort soutenu, les hommes déclarent que l’ordre kṣātra — le pouvoir royal exercé comme dharma — est le premier, pourvu de tout ce qu’exige la droiture. Car c’est avec l’appui de ce kṣātra-dharma que les divers ordres sociaux peuvent accomplir leurs devoirs propres. Aussi disent-ils que, sans le kṣātra-dharma, ces devoirs mêmes perdent leur juste finalité et se retournent contre leur but.»
इन्द्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that righteous kingship (kṣātra-dharma) is foundational for society: it enables each varṇa to perform its own duties safely and meaningfully; without it, other dharmas become ineffective or even counterproductive.
Indra is explaining a principle of rajadharma within the Śānti Parva discourse: he argues for the primacy of the kṣātra function—protection, enforcement of order, and governance—as the support-system that allows all other life-duties and social obligations to operate.