Shloka 17
जापक–इक्ष्वाकु–सत्यविवादः
The Jāpaka, Ikṣvāku, and the Dispute on Truth and Merit
त्रिवर्गगुणनिर्व त्तिर्यस्य नित्यं गृहाश्रमे । स सुखान्यनुभूयेह शिष्टानां गतिमाप्नुयात्
trivarga-guṇa-nirvṛttir yasya nityaṁ gṛhāśrame | sa sukhāny anubhūyeha śiṣṭānāṁ gatim āpnuyāt ||
भरद्वाज उवाच—त्रिवर्गगुणनिर्वृत्तिर्यस्य नित्यं गृहाश्रमे। स सुखान्यनुभूयेह शिष्टानां गतिमाप्नुयात्॥
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the householder life is spiritually and socially fruitful when it harmonizes the three human aims—dharma, artha, and kāma—under ethical discipline; such balance yields worldly happiness and culminates in the respected destiny of the righteous (śiṣṭa).
In Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Bharadvāja states a normative principle about gṛhastha-dharma: a person who consistently fulfills the three aims properly while living as a householder enjoys well-being here and attains an esteemed end aligned with the conduct of the virtuous.