Shloka 5
नागभायोवाच शिष्याणां गुरुशुश्रूषा विप्राणां वेदधारणम् । भृत्यानां स्वामिवचनं राज्ञो लोकानुपालनम्,नागपत्नीने कहा--शिष्योंका धर्म है गुरुकी सेवा करना, ब्राह्मणोंका धर्म है वेदोंको धारण करना, सेवकोंका धर्म है स्वामीकी आज्ञाका पालन तथा राजाका धर्म है प्रजावर्गका सतत संरक्षण
nāgabhāryovāca—śiṣyāṇāṁ guruśuśrūṣā viprāṇāṁ vedadhāraṇam | bhṛtyānāṁ svāmivacanaṁ rājño lokānupālanam ||
Isteri Nāga berkata: “Bagi para pelajar, dharma ialah berkhidmat dengan setia kepada guru; bagi para brahmin, dharma ialah memelihara dan menjunjung Weda; bagi para hamba, dharma ialah melaksanakan titah tuan; dan bagi seorang raja, dharma ialah melindungi serta memakmurkan rakyat tanpa henti.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines role-based dharma: disciples serve and learn from the teacher, brahmins preserve the Vedas, servants obey rightful commands, and kings protect and sustain the people—each station is measured by faithful performance of its responsibility.
Within Bhīṣma’s discourse in the Śānti Parva, a Nāga wife is quoted as articulating a concise ethical taxonomy of duties, using familiar social roles to illustrate how dharma operates through responsibility and protection rather than mere status.