Shloka 10
Vasiṣṭha on Saṃsāra, Guṇas, and Misattributed Agency
Mahābhārata 12.292
स्वाध्यायेन महर्षिभ्यो देवेभ्यो यज्ञकर्मणा । पितृभ्य: श्राद्धदानेन नृणामभ्यर्चनेन च,वेद-शास्त्रोंका स्वाध्याय करके ऋषियोंके, यज्ञ-कर्मद्वारा देवताओंके, श्राद्ध और दानसे पितरोंके तथा स्वागत-सत्कार, सेवा आदिसे अतिथियोंके ऋणसे छुटकारा होता है
svādhyāyena maharṣibhyo devebhyo yajñakarmaṇā | pitṛbhyaḥ śrāddhadānena nṛṇām abhyarcaneṇa ca ||
وید و شاستروں کے سوادھیائے سے رشیوں کا قرض ادا ہوتا ہے؛ یَجْن کے کرموں سے دیوتاؤں کا قرض؛ شرادھ اور دان سے پِتروں کا قرض؛ اور انسانوں—خصوصاً مہمانوں—کی تعظیم و خدمت سے انسانوں کے قرض سے نجات ملتی ہے۔
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human life carries foundational obligations: to sages (through Vedic study), to gods (through yajña and sacred rites), to ancestors (through śrāddha and giving), and to fellow humans/guests (through honor, hospitality, and service). Fulfilling these is presented as a practical framework of dharma.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, the sage Parāśara enumerates the means by which one becomes free of the major ‘debts’ (ṛṇas) that bind a householder—linking learning, ritual, ancestral rites, charity, and hospitality into a single ethical program.