Shloka 6
Āśrama-dharma and Brahmacarya: Śuka’s Inquiry on Karma and Tyāga (शुक-प्रश्नः कर्मत्यागविवेकश्च)
गृहस्थस्त्वेष धर्माणां सर्वेषां मूलमुच्यते । यत्र पक्वकषायो हि दान्तः सर्वत्र सिध्यति
gṛhasthas tveṣa dharmāṇāṃ sarveṣāṃ mūlam ucyate | yatra pakvakaṣāyo hi dāntaḥ sarvatra sidhyati ||
Wika ni Vyāsa: Ang yugto ng gṛhastha (buhay-sambahayan) ay ipinahahayag na ugat ng lahat ng tungkulin ng dharma. Sapagkat dito, ang taong may pagpipigil-sa-sarili—na ang mga dungis sa loob gaya ng pagnanasa ay ganap nang nahinog at nasunog na—ay nagkakamit ng tagumpay sa bawat larangan ng matuwid na pamumuhay.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the gṛhastha-āśrama is the foundational support of all dharmas, because it sustains society and provides the practical field in which disciplined, sense-controlled living and inner purification can mature into comprehensive success in righteous life.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Vyāsa is presenting a doctrinal point about the hierarchy and function of the āśramas, emphasizing the householder stage as the base from which other modes of life and spiritual aims are supported and fulfilled.