Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 61
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
उमोवाच (भगवन् देवदेवेश नमस्ते वृषभध्वज । श्रोतुमिच्छाम्यहं देव धर्ममाश्रमिणां विभो ।।
tathāśramagataṃ dharmaṃ śṛṇu devi samāhitā | āśramāṇāṃ tu yo dharmaḥ kriyate brahmavādibhiḥ ||
Umā berkata: “Wahai Bhagavan, Dewa para dewa, pemilik panji lembu! Hamba bersujud kepada-Mu. Wahai Prabhu, aku ingin mendengar dharma para penghuni āśrama.” Śrī Maheśvara bersabda: “Wahai Devī, dengarkan dengan pikiran yang terhimpun dan teguh dharma yang berkaitan dengan āśrama. Apa yang akan Kukatakan adalah disiplin āśrama sebagaimana ditetapkan oleh para brahma-vādin, para resi yang berpegang pada ajaran dan perwujudan Brahman.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Śiva frames āśrama-dharma as an authoritative, time-tested discipline: one should learn it with mental composure, and it is to be understood as the established practice of brahma-vādins (Vedic sages devoted to Brahman).
After Umā expresses the wish to hear the duties of those in the āśramas, Śrī Maheśvara begins his instruction, asking her to listen attentively as he presents the dharma defined by the sages.