Shloka 19

Devanagari script

देववंशान्‌ ब्रह्म॒वंशान्‌ पितृवंशांश्व शाश्वतान्‌ | संविभज्य गुरोश्चर्या तद्‌ वै दुष्करमुच्यते,हवन-कर्मके द्वारा देवताओंको, स्वाध्यायद्वारा ब्रह्मर्षियोंको तथा श्राद्धद्वारा सनातन पितरोंको उनका भाग समर्पित करके गुरुकी परिचर्या करना दुष्कर व्रत कहलाता है

Transliteration

arjuna uvāca | devavaṁśān brahmavaṁśān pitṛvaṁśāṁś ca śāśvatān | saṁvibhajya guroś caryā tad vai duṣkaram ucyate ||

Translation

Arjuna disse: Tendo repartido devidamente as porções devidas às linhagens divinas, às linhagens dos brâmanes-videntes e aos ancestrais eternos—e depois servindo ao mestre—isso, de fato, é chamado uma disciplina difícil. O verso apresenta a vida religiosa verdadeira como uma ética equilibrada: dever ritual para com os deuses, estudo e transmissão do saber sagrado aos ṛṣi, obrigação ancestral por meio do śrāddha e serviço pessoal humilde ao guru.

Word by Word

• {'arjuna uvāca': 'Arjuna said', 'deva-vaṁśān': 'the divine lineages

• the gods as recipients of offerings', 'brahma-vaṁśān': 'the Brahman/seer lineages

• ṛṣis and the tradition of sacred learning', 'pitṛ-vaṁśān': 'the ancestral lineages

• the Pitṛs (forefathers)', 'śāśvatān': 'eternal, perennial', 'saṁvibhajya': 'having distributed/apportioned properly

• assigning due shares', 'guroḥ': 'of the guru/teacher', 'caryā': 'conduct, service, disciplined attendance

• personal attendance on the teacher', 'tad': 'that', 'vai': 'indeed, certainly (emphatic particle)', 'duṣkaram': 'hard to do, difficult', 'ucyate': 'is said/called'}

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Devas (gods)
• Brahmarṣis/Ṛṣis (seer-sages)
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Guru (teacher)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is presented as a fourfold balance: offerings to the gods (yajña/homa), sacred study and preservation of the seer-tradition (svādhyāya), ancestral obligation through śrāddha, and humble service to the guru. Fulfilling all without neglect is called a ‘difficult vow’ because it demands sustained discipline and gratitude across all sources of support—divine, intellectual, familial, and pedagogical.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Arjuna speaks to highlight how demanding true religious and ethical life is: one must not merely perform isolated rites, but properly ‘apportion’ duties to each rightful recipient and then live in disciplined service to one’s teacher.