Shloka 60

Āśrama-dharma: Duties of the Four Life-Stages (आश्रमधर्मः)

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते शान्तिपर्वणि राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि वर्णाश्रमधर्मकथने षष्टितमो5 ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi rājadharmānuśāsanaparvaṇi varṇāśramadharmakathane ṣaṣṭitamo 'dhyāyaḥ |

Translation

Như vậy, trong Śrī Mahābhārata, thuộc Śānti Parva—đặc biệt trong phần giáo huấn về vương pháp—chấm dứt chương thứ sáu mươi, với chủ đề trình bày các bổn phận của varṇa và āśrama (giai tầng và các giai đoạn đời sống).

Word by Word

• इति: thus; so
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• श्री: auspicious; venerable (honorific)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (used as honorific prefix), Singular

• महाभारते: in the Mahabharata
• महाभारते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• शान्तिपर्वणि: in the Shanti Parva
• शान्तिपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शान्तिपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि: in the Parva (section) of instruction on the king's duties
• राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• वर्णाश्रमधर्मकथने: in the narration/discussion of the duties of varnas and ashramas
• वर्णाश्रमधर्मकथने: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्णाश्रमधर्मकथन
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• षष्टितमः: sixtieth
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षष्टितम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अध्यायः: chapter
• अध्यायः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Mahābhārata
• Śānti Parva
• Rājadharmānuśāsana Parva
• Varṇāśrama-dharma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This verse functions as a colophon marking the completion of a chapter devoted to varṇāśrama-dharma within the broader instruction on rājadharma. The ethical emphasis is that governance and social order are framed through dharma, articulated via duties appropriate to social roles (varṇa) and life-stages (āśrama).

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma’s discourse to Yudhiṣṭhira continues in the Śānti Parva. Here the text signals that the chapter on explaining varṇa- and āśrama-based duties has concluded, transitioning to the next unit of instruction.