Shloka 30
Rājā–Rāja-Śabda-Prabhavaḥ — The Origin and Rationale of Kingship and Daṇḍanīti
त्रिवर्ग इति विख्यातो गण एष स्वयम्भुवा । तदनन्तर ब्रह्माजीने अपनी बुद्धिसे एक लाख अध्यायोंका एक ऐसा नीतिशास्त्र रचा, जिसमें धर्म, अर्थ और कामका विस्तारपूर्वक वर्णन है। जिसमें इन वर्गोंका वर्णन हुआ है, वह प्रकरण “त्रिवर्ग” नामसे विख्यात है ।।
trivarga iti vikhyāto gaṇa eṣa svayambhuvā | tadanantaraṁ brahmājīnaḥ svabuddhyā eka-lakṣa-adhyāyānām ekaṁ nītiśāstraṁ racitaṁ, yasmin dharma-artha-kāmānāṁ vistara-pūrvakaṁ varṇanaṁ asti | yasmin eteṣāṁ vargāṇāṁ varṇanaṁ kṛtaṁ, tat prakaraṇaṁ “trivarga” nāmnā vikhyātam || caturtho mokṣa ity eva pṛthag-arthaḥ pṛthag-guṇaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“此三者，世称‘三法’（Trivarga，人生三目标），乃承自自生者（Svayambhu）之传统而立的分类。其后，梵天凭自身智慧，撰成一部宏大的治国与正行之论，据说广至十万章，于其中详尽阐释法（Dharma）、利（Artha）与欲（Kāma）。因此，专门阐明此三者的篇章便名为‘三法’。然而另有第四目标，名为解脱（Mokṣa）——其旨趣与其品性，皆与前三者迥然有别。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human life is commonly organized around three aims—Dharma (moral duty), Artha (welfare and power), and Kāma (legitimate enjoyment)—but Bhishma emphasizes that Mokṣa is a fourth aim, distinct in nature and higher in orientation, pointing beyond worldly goals toward liberation.
In the Shanti Parva instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhishma explains a traditional classification of life-goals and attributes an authoritative nītiśāstra to Brahmā. He identifies the section dealing with Dharma-Artha-Kāma as ‘Trivarga’ and then introduces Mokṣa as a separate, fourth objective.