Shloka 2

Kṣātra-dharma as the Public Foundation of Dharma (क्षात्रधर्म-प्रशंसा)

Devanagari script

सेव्यं तु ब्रह्म षट्‌्कर्म गृहस्थेन मनीषिणा । कृतकृत्यस्य चारण्ये वासो विप्रस्य शस्यते

Transliteration

sevyam tu brahma ṣaṭ-karma gṛhasthena manīṣiṇā | kṛtakṛtyasya cāraṇye vāso viprasya śasyate ||

Translation

भीष्मजी बोले—विवेकी गृहस्थ ब्राह्मण के लिए वेदाध्ययन तथा यजन-याजन आदि छः कर्म ही सेवन करने योग्य हैं। और जब गृहस्थाश्रम का प्रयोजन पूर्ण हो जाए, तब ब्राह्मण के लिए वानप्रस्थ होकर वन में निवास करना प्रशंसित माना गया है।

Word by Word

• {'sevyam': 'to be practiced

• worthy of pursuit', 'tu': 'indeed

• but (emphatic/contrastive particle)', 'brahma': 'the Veda

• sacred knowledge (brahma in the sense of Vedic lore)', 'ṣaṭ-karma': 'the six duties of a brāhmaṇa (traditionally: adhyayana, adhyāpana, yajana, yājana, dāna, pratigraha)', 'gṛhasthena': 'by/for the householder (in the gṛhastha-āśrama)', 'manīṣiṇā': 'by the wise/discerning person', 'kṛtakṛtyasya': 'of one who has accomplished what is to be done

• who has fulfilled obligations', 'ca': 'and', 'āraṇye': 'in the forest

• in a woodland hermitage setting', 'vāsaḥ': 'dwelling

• residence', 'viprasya': 'of a brāhmaṇa

• of a learned priest', 'śasyate': 'is praised

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• vipra (brāhmaṇa)
• gṛhastha (householder)
• āraṇya (forest)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A wise brāhmaṇa should, while living as a householder, devote himself to Vedic learning and the six prescribed duties; after fulfilling household obligations, he is commended to withdraw to forest life (vanaprastha) as a disciplined next stage.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma in the Śānti Parva, he outlines the proper conduct across life-stages, specifically prescribing the householder’s religious responsibilities and then recommending forest-dwelling once those responsibilities are completed.