Shloka 20

Varṇāśrama-ācāra and Vikarma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry on Safe Dharmas (शिवधर्मप्रश्नः)

Devanagari script

शुश्रूषां सततं कुर्वन्‌ गुरो: सम्प्रणमेत च । षट्कर्मसु निवृत्तश्न न प्रवृत्तश्न सर्वश:

Transliteration

śuśrūṣāṃ satataṃ kurvan guroḥ saṃpraṇameta ca | ṣaṭkarmasu nivṛttaś ca na pravṛttaś ca sarvaśaḥ ||

Translation

भीष्म ने कहा—वह निरन्तर गुरु की सेवा करता रहे और उन्हें यथोचित प्रणाम करे। आजीविका के लिए किए जाने वाले छः कर्म—यजन-याजन, अध्ययन-अध्यापन, दान और प्रतिग्रह—इनसे वह निवृत्त रहे; और किसी भी प्रकार अधर्म में कभी प्रवृत्त न हो।

Word by Word

• {'śuśrūṣā': 'attentive service

• devoted attendance (especially to a teacher/elder)', 'satatam': 'constantly

• always', 'kurvan': 'doing

• performing', 'guroḥ': 'of the guru/teacher', 'saṃpraṇameta': 'should bow

• should offer respectful obeisance', 'ca': 'and', 'ṣaṭ-karmasu': 'in the six acts/occupations (the sixfold set of duties often linked with Brahmin livelihood)', 'nivṛttaḥ': 'withdrawn

• abstaining', 'na': 'not', 'pravṛttaḥ': 'engaged

• involved', 'sarvaśaḥ': 'in every way

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• guru (teacher)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Continuous reverent service to one’s teacher and strict ethical restraint: avoid livelihood-driven religious/academic transactions (the six occupations) and never participate in adharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma lays down a rule of conduct for a disciplined seeker/student: humility before the guru, withdrawal from certain professionalized ritual/learning exchanges, and total avoidance of unrighteous acts.