Shloka 15
शकुनि (हिरण्मय-पक्षी) उपदेशः — Vighasāśin and the Difficulty of Gārhasthya
ईहन्ते सर्वभूतानि तदिदं कर्मसंज्ञितम् । सिद्धिक्षेत्रमिदं पुण्यमयमेवाश्रमो महान्
īhante sarvabhūtāni tad idaṃ karmasaṃjñitam | siddhikṣetram idaṃ puṇyamayam evāśramo mahān |
阿周那说道：“一切众生皆奋力而行——此即所谓‘业’（karma）。此成就之神圣境域，乃大住期：家住期，在其中承担吠陀之责，尤以祭祀为要。吠陀坚固教示这些仪轨，诸圣贤宣说：诸行唯由吠陀真言而得圆满；故奉行之，则于此世得所愿之果，亦得通往天界之道。是以众生多尽其所能，力求完成以时序为标记的诸祭——月、半月、四时，以及日、月、星辰。此等祭行之履行名为业；而其所行之处——家住期（gṛhastha-āśrama）——乃成功之福田，为诸住期之最伟大者。”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ‘karma’ as the universal striving of beings, and then narrows it to Vedic duty—especially yajña—performed with mantras. It elevates the gṛhastha-āśrama as the primary, merit-filled ‘field of accomplishment’ because it is the social and ritual setting where these duties are actually carried out and where desired results (including the path to svarga) are pursued.
In the Śānti Parva’s discourse on dharma and right conduct, Arjuna speaks about the nature of action and the religious life. He explains why householdership is considered the greatest āśrama: it sustains Vedic rites and time-bound sacrifices linked to cosmic cycles (months, seasons, sun, moon, stars), which most beings attempt to perform to the best of their capacity.