Shloka 40

अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः

Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving

Devanagari script

धर्मशास्त्राणि वेदाक्ष षडड़ानि नराधिप । श्रेयसो<र्थे विधीयन्ते नरस्याक्लिष्टकर्मण:,नरेश्वर! धर्मशास्त्र और छहों अंगोंसहित वेद पुण्यकर्म करनेवाले पुरुषके कल्याणके लिये ही कर्तव्यका विधान करते हैं

Transliteration

dharmaśāstrāṇi vedākṣa ṣaḍaṅgāni narādhipa | śreyaso 'rthe vidhīyante narasyākliṣṭakarmaṇaḥ || naraśvara ||

Translation

ปราศรกล่าวว่า “ข้าแต่นราธิป ธรรมศาสตราและพระเวทพร้อมด้วยเวทางคะทั้งหก ย่อมบัญญัติสิ่งที่พึงกระทำเพื่อประโยชน์อันสูงสุดของมนุษย์—โดยเฉพาะผู้ประกอบกรรมอันชอบธรรมด้วยใจไม่คับข้องและไม่ก่อความระทมแก่ตน”

Word by Word

धर्मशास्त्राणिtreatises on dharma

वेदाःthe Vedas

अक्षO Ax(a) (as addressed)

षडङ्गानिthe six auxiliaries (Vedāṅgas)

नराधिपO lord of men (king)

श्रेयसःof welfare / of the good

अर्थेfor the purpose / in the matter

विधीयन्तेare prescribed / are laid down

नरस्यof a man

अक्लिष्टकर्मणःof one whose actions are not afflicted (i.e., of a virtuous doer)

नरेश्वरO king / lord of men

Speaker

पराशर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Parāśara

narādhipa (the king addressed)

Dharmaśāstra

Veda

Ṣ

Ṣaḍvedāṅga (six Vedāṅgas)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That Dharmaśāstra and the Veda (with its six Vedāṅgas) exist to prescribe conduct aimed at śreyas—the enduring welfare and moral uplift of a person—rather than being ends in themselves.

What is happening in the narrative?

Parāśara is instructing a king in the Śānti Parva, emphasizing the purpose of scriptural injunctions: to guide human action toward the highest good, especially for those committed to righteous, untroubled conduct.