Shloka 24
Tapovana-praveśaḥ — The King’s Entry into the Sacred Grove and Vision of the Āśrama
स्वकर्मनिरताश्नासन् सर्वे वर्णा नराधिप । एवं तदा नरव्यात्र धर्मो न हसते क्वचित्,राजन्! उस समय सब वर्णोके लोग अपने-अपने कर्मके पालनमें लगे रहते थे। नरश्रेष्ठ! इस प्रकार उस समय कहीं भी धर्मका हास नहीं होता था
svakarmaniratāśnāsan sarve varṇā narādhipa | evaṃ tadā naravyāghra dharmo na hasate kvacit rājān ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O king, all the social orders lived devoted to their own prescribed duties and sustained themselves accordingly. O tiger among men, in that time dharma did not decline anywhere; righteousness was not mocked or diminished, O ruler.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents an ethical ideal: when people adhere to their own rightful duties (svakarma) and livelihood is aligned with those duties, dharma remains stable and is not undermined. Social harmony is portrayed as arising from disciplined conduct and respect for moral order.
Vaiśampāyana describes an earlier time to the king, characterizing it as an age of orderly conduct: all varṇas were engaged in their prescribed roles, and as a result righteousness did not suffer decline anywhere in the realm.