Shloka 9
Vasiṣṭha on Saṃsāra, Guṇas, and Misattributed Agency
Mahābhārata 12.292
देवतातिथि भृत्येभ्य: पितृभ्यश्चात्मनस्तथा । ऋणवान् जायते मर्त्यस्तस्मादनृणतां व्रजेत्
devatātithi-bhṛtyebhyaḥ pitṛbhyaś cātmanaḥ tathā | ṛṇavān jāyate martyas tasmād anṛṇatāṁ vrajet ||
ಪರಾಶರನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಮನುಷ್ಯನು ಜನ್ಮದಿಂದಲೇ ದೇವತೆಗಳಿಗೆ, ಅತಿಥಿಗೆ, ತನ್ನ ಮೇಲೆ ಅವಲಂಬಿತರಾದವರಿಗೆ, ಪಿತೃಗಳಿಗೆ ಹಾಗೂ ತನ್ನ ಸ್ವಂತ ಆತ್ಮಕ್ಕೂ ಋಣಿಯಾಗಿಯೇ ಹುಟ್ಟುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಬ್ಬರ प्रति ಕರ್ತವ್ಯವನ್ನು ನೆರವೇರಿಸಿ ಆ ಋಣಗಳಿಂದ ಮುಕ್ತನಾಗಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಿಸಬೇಕು.
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human life begins with obligations: to the gods (through worship and right conduct), to guests (hospitality), to dependents (support and protection), to ancestors (continuing lineage and rites), and to oneself (self-care, discipline, and inner cultivation). Dharma is framed as consciously repaying these debts and aiming for anṛṇatā—freedom from unmet obligations.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Parāśara delivers a didactic statement defining the human condition as inherently indebted. He urges the listener to pursue a life of responsible action—ritual, social, familial, and personal duties—so that one becomes ‘debt-free’ in the ethical sense.