Shloka 10
Vasiṣṭha on Saṃsāra, Guṇas, and Misattributed Agency
Mahābhārata 12.292
स्वाध्यायेन महर्षिभ्यो देवेभ्यो यज्ञकर्मणा । पितृभ्य: श्राद्धदानेन नृणामभ्यर्चनेन च
svādhyāyena maharṣibhyo devebhyo yajñakarmaṇā | pitṛbhyaḥ śrāddhadānena nṛṇām abhyarcaneṇa ca ||
パラーシャラは言った。「ヴェーダの誦読と学習（スヴァーディヤーヤ）によって、人は大聖仙たちへの負債を果たす。供犠の儀礼（ヤジュニャ）によって神々に報い、シュラーダ（śrāddha）の供物と施与によって祖霊を満たす。さらに人々—とりわけ客人—を敬い仕えることで、人間に対する負債から解き放たれる。かくして人生は、これら根本の義務を規律をもって返済する道として生きられるべきである。」
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human life carries foundational obligations: to sages (through Vedic study), to gods (through yajña and sacred rites), to ancestors (through śrāddha and giving), and to fellow humans/guests (through honor, hospitality, and service). Fulfilling these is presented as a practical framework of dharma.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, the sage Parāśara enumerates the means by which one becomes free of the major ‘debts’ (ṛṇas) that bind a householder—linking learning, ritual, ancestral rites, charity, and hospitality into a single ethical program.