Shloka 6

Brāhmaṇa-Dharma, Āśrama Eligibility, and the Primacy of Rāja-Dharma (Śānti Parva 63)

Devanagari script

षट्कर्मसम्प्रवृत्तस्य आश्रमेषु चतुर्ष्वपि । सर्वधर्मोपपन्नस्य संवृतस्थ कृतात्मन:

Transliteration

ṣaṭkarma-sampravṛttasya āśrameṣu caturṣv api | sarva-dharmopapannasya saṃvṛta-stha kṛtātmanaḥ ||

Translation

જે છ કર્મોમાં પ્રવૃત્ત હોય, ચારેય આશ્રમોમાંથી કોઈ એકમાં સ્થિત હોય, સર્વ ધર્મોથી યુક્ત હોય, પોતાના સ્થાનમાં સ્થિર, સંયમી અને આત્મજિત હોય—એના આચરણ વિષે (મને કહો)।

Word by Word

षट्कर्मसम्प्रवृत्तस्यof one engaged in the six duties

आश्रमेषुin the āśramas (stages of life)

चतुर्षुin the four

अपिalso/even

सर्वधर्मोपपन्नस्यof one endowed with all dharmas

संवृतस्थstanding restrained/controlled

कृतात्मनःof the self-controlled (one who has mastered himself)

Speaker

युधिषछ्िर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames an ethical ideal: a person who fulfills prescribed duties (ṣaṭkarma), can live rightly within any life-stage (the four āśramas), embodies comprehensive dharma, and is marked by restraint and self-mastery. It emphasizes that true righteousness is not merely ritual or status, but disciplined character and steady conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira continues his inquiry into dharma after the war. Here he asks for guidance about the proper conduct and qualities of an exemplary person—one engaged in obligatory duties and established in the āśrama framework—seeking a clear standard for righteous living.