Shloka 14
कालनिर्देशः शोकनिवारणं च
Instruction on Kāla and the Removal of Grief
भारत! अपने धर्मको त्याग देना और दूसरेके धर्मका आचरण करना
bhārata! svadharma-tyāgaḥ paradharma-anuṣṭhānam, ayajñasya yajña-kāraṇam, abhakṣya-bhakṣaṇam, śaraṇāgata-tyāgaḥ, bharaṇīyānāṁ abharaṇam, rasānāṁ vikrayaḥ, paśu-pakṣi-vadhaḥ, śakti-sati api agnyādhānādi-karma-akaraṇam, nitya-deya-gogrāsādi-adānam, brāhmaṇebhyo dakṣiṇā-adānam, teṣāṁ sarvasva-haraṇam—dharmatattva-vidaḥ etāni sarvāṇi akaraṇīyāni āhuḥ ||
pitrā vivadate putro yaś ca syād gurutalpagaḥ |
aprajāyan nara-vyāghra bhavaty adhārmiko naraḥ ||
स्वधर्मस्य परित्यागः परधर्मस्य च क्रिया । अयाज्ययाजनं चैव तथाभक्ष्यस्य भक्षणम् ॥ शरणागतसंत्यागो भृत्यस्यथाभरणं तथा । रसानां विक्रयश्चापि तिर्यग्योनिवधस्तथा ॥ आधानादीनि कर्माणि शक्तिमान्न करोति यः । अप्रयच्छंश्च सर्वाणि नित्यदेयानि भारत ॥ दक्षिणानामदानं च ब्राह्मणस्वाभिमर्शनम् । सर्वाण्येतान्यकार्याणि प्राहुर्धर्मविदो जनाः ॥ पित्रा विवदते पुत्रो यश्च स्थाद् गुरुतल्पगः । अप्रजायन् नरव्याघ्र भवत्यधार्मिको नरः ॥
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse lists concrete actions that violate dharma: abandoning one’s rightful duty, enabling unqualified ritual acts, consuming forbidden food, betraying refuge-seekers, neglecting dependents and daily obligations, engaging in harmful or prohibited trades and violence, and exploiting Brahmins. It then highlights three personal transgressions—quarreling with one’s father, violating the guru’s bed, and refusing conjugal duty for progeny in season—as marks of an adhārmika (unrighteous) person.
In Śānti-parvan’s instruction on righteous conduct after the war, Vyāsa addresses the king (Bhārata) and enumerates behaviors condemned by knowers of dharma, moving from social/ritual failures to intimate moral breaches that undermine family order, teacher-student sanctity, and household continuity.