Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 78 Shloka 21 - Mahabharata | Malayalam | Vedapath

Vyasa

←Previous VerseNext Verse→

Shloka 21

Go-dāna-phala-nirdeśa

Merit and Destinations from the Gift of Cows

Devanagari script

वैश्य: स्वकर्मनिरत: प्रदानाल्‍लभते महत्‌ । शूद्र: स्वकर्मनिरत: स्वर्ग शुश्रूषयारच्छति

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca |

vaiśyaḥ svakarmanirataḥ pradānāl labhate mahat |

śūdraḥ svakarmanirataḥ svargaṃ śuśrūṣayā ṛcchati ||

Translation

സ്വകർത്തവ്യത്തിൽ നിരതനായ വൈശ്യൻ ദാനത്തിലൂടെ മഹത്തായ പദം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു. സ്വകർത്തവ്യത്തിൽ സ്ഥിരനായ ശൂദ്രൻ ശുശ്രൂഷ (നിഷ്ഠാപൂർവ്വ സേവനം) കൊണ്ടു സ്വർഗം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

वैश्यःa Vaishya

स्वकर्मनिरतःengaged in his own duty/work

प्रदानात्from/through giving (by donation)

लभतेobtains

महत्a great (state/position)

शूद्रःa Shudra

स्वकर्मनिरतःengaged in his own duty/work

स्वर्गम्heaven

शुश्रूषयाby service/attendance

ऋच्छतिreaches/goes to

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Vaishya

Shudra

Svarga (heaven)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that excellence and spiritual reward arise from sincere performance of one’s own duty (svakarma): the Vaishya is elevated through generosity (dāna), and the Shudra attains heaven through devoted service (śuśrūṣā).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing Yudhishthira on dharma and proper conduct. Here he outlines how different social roles can achieve merit through their characteristic virtues—giving for the Vaishya and service for the Shudra—when grounded in faithful adherence to duty.