Shloka 60

Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)

Devanagari script

वर्तसे मोक्षधर्मेण त्वं गार्हस्थ्येड5हमाश्रमे । अयं चापि सुकष्टस्ते द्वितीयो55श्रमसंकर:

Transliteration

vartase mokṣa-dharmeṇa tvaṃ gārhasthye ’ham āśrame | ayaṃ cāpi su-kaṣṭas te dvitīyo ’śrama-saṅkaraḥ ||

Translation

Ты следуешь дхарме освобождения, оставаясь при этом в ашраме домохозяина. Но и это для тебя крайне тяжело: второе осложнение — смешение ашрамов (āśrama-saṅkara).

Word by Word

वर्तसेyou live/abide, you conduct yourself

मोक्षधर्मेणby/according to the dharma of liberation

त्वम्you

गार्हस्थ्येin the householder-state

अहम्I

आश्रमेin the āśrama (stage of life)

अयम्this

चand

अपिalso/even

सुकष्टःvery difficult

तेfor you/to you

द्वितीयःsecond

आश्रमसंकरःmixing/confusion of āśramas (stages of life)

Speaker

जनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

Janaka

āśrama (life-stage system)

gārhasthya (householder stage)

mokṣa-dharma (path/dharma of liberation)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Liberation-oriented discipline (mokṣa-dharma) can be pursued even within the householder stage, but it is exceptionally demanding because it risks an ‘āśrama-saṅkara’—a problematic blending of duties and disciplines meant for different life-stages.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janaka addresses the interlocutor, acknowledging their commitment to mokṣa-dharma while living as a householder, and points out the difficulty of maintaining clarity and consistency when householder obligations and renunciant ideals become intermingled.