Shloka 12
विष्ण्वाराधन-फलम् तथा वर्णधर्माः
Worship of Vishnu through Varṇa-dharma
ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रियो वैश्यः शूद्रश् च पृथिवीपते स्वधर्मतत्परो विष्णुम् आराधयति नान्यथा
brāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyo vaiśyaḥ śūdraś ca pṛthivīpate svadharmatatparo viṣṇum ārādhayati nānyathā
大地の主よ、ブラーフマナであれ、クシャトリヤであれ、ヴァイシャであれ、シュードラであれ、自らのスヴァダルマに専心してこそヴィシュヌを真に礼拝する。ほかの道はない。
Sage Parāśara (in instruction, traditionally to Maitreya; vocative suggests the teaching is framed for a king as well)
FAQs
This verse teaches that svadharma—faithful performance of one’s rightful duties—is itself a direct mode of worship of Vishnu, aligning personal life with cosmic order.
Parāśara frames worship as practical and embodied: each varna honors Vishnu by sincerely fulfilling its own dharma, rather than by abandoning one’s station for a different discipline.
Vishnu is presented as the supreme recipient and ground of dharma—devotion is validated not merely by ritual, but by living one’s ordained responsibilities as an offering to Him.