Shloka 58
युधिछिर उवाच देवतातिथिभृत्यानां पितृणामात्मनश्न यः । न निर्वपति पज्चानामुच्छवसन् न स जीवति
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: devatātithibhṛtyānāṃ pitṝṇām ātmanaś ca yaḥ | na nirvapati pañcānām ucchvasan na sa jīvati ||
ಯುಧಿಷ್ಠಿರನು ಹೇಳಿದನು— ದೇವತೆಗಳಿಗೆ, ಅತಿಥಿಗಳಿಗೆ, ಭೃತ್ಯರಿಗೆ/ಆಶ್ರಿತರಿಗೆ, ಪಿತೃಗಳಿಗೆ ಮತ್ತು ತನ್ನಿಗೆ— ಈ ಐವರಿಗೆ ಸಲ್ಲಬೇಕಾದ ಪಾಲನ್ನು ಯಥಾವಿಧಿ ಅರ್ಪಿಸದವನು, ಉಸಿರಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೂ ನಿಜವಾಗಿ ಜೀವಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
True life is defined by dharma: one must regularly discharge the five fundamental obligations—toward gods (worship/offerings), guests (hospitality), dependents (care and support), ancestors (rites and remembrance), and oneself (right self-maintenance). Mere breathing without these duties is ethically empty.
In the Vana Parva’s dharma-discourse setting, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a moral standard for household and social life, emphasizing that a person’s worth is measured by fulfilling essential reciprocal duties rather than by mere survival.