Shanti Parva Adhyaya 293 Shloka 1 - Mahabharata | Kannada | Vedapath

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Shloka 1

Vasiṣṭha–Karāla-Janaka Saṃvāda: Aśuddha-Sevana, Guṇa-Dr̥ṣṭi, and Sāṃkhya–Yoga Ekārthatā

Mahābhārata 12.293

Devanagari script

अपन क्ाता बछ। आर: 2 त्रिनवर्त्याधेकद्विशततमो< ध्याय: पराशरगीता--शूद्रके लिये सेवावृत्तिकी प्रधानता

Transliteration

parāśara uvāca | vṛttiḥ sakāśād varṇebhyas tribhyo hīnasya śobhanā | prītyopanītā nirdiṣṭā dharmiṣṭhān kurute sadā ||

Translation

ಪರಾಶರನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಓ ರಾಜನೇ! ಮೂರು (ಉನ್ನತ) ವರ್ಣಗಳಿಗಿಂತ ಹೀನಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಶೂದ್ರನಿಗೆ ಅವರ ಸೇವೆಯಿಂದ ಜೀವನೋಪಾಯ ಮಾಡುವುದು ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಯುಕ್ತವಾದ ವೃತ್ತಿ. ವಿಧಿಪೂರ್ವಕವಾಗಿ ನಿಗದಿಯಾದ ಈ ಸೇವೆಯನ್ನು ಸತ್ಸಂಕಲ್ಪ ಮತ್ತು ಭಕ್ತಿಯಿಂದ ಆಚರಿಸಿದರೆ, ಅದು ಅವನನ್ನು ಸದಾ ಧರ್ಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಥಿರನಾಗಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.

Word by Word

वृत्तिःlivelihood; occupation

सकाशात्from; from the presence of

वर्णेभ्यःfrom the varnas (social orders)

त्रिभ्यःfrom three

हीनस्यof one who is deprived/less (i.e., the one lacking the three)

शोभनाexcellent; auspicious

प्रीत्याwith affection; gladly

उपनीताundertaken; adopted; brought into practice

निर्दिष्टाprescribed; enjoined

धर्मिष्ठान्righteous; devoted to dharma

कुरुतेmakes; renders

सदाalways

Speaker

पराशर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Parāśara

the King (rājan, implied addressee)

the three varṇas (brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya)

śūdra (implied by 'hīna' relative to the three)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that a prescribed livelihood aligned with one’s social duty—here, service as a vocation—when performed willingly and with goodwill, becomes a means of cultivating steadiness in dharma rather than merely a way to survive.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, the sage Parāśara addresses a king and begins outlining duties and proper livelihoods by varṇa, emphasizing the ethical value of performing one’s assigned work with sincere intention.