Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 1313

Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)

Devanagari script

श्री: सम्भूता यतो देवी पत्नी धर्मस्य धीमत: । उस समय भगवान्‌ विष्णुके ललाटसे एक सुवर्णमय कमल प्रकट हुआ, जिससे बुद्धिमान्‌ धर्मकी पत्नी श्रीदेवीका प्रादुर्भाव हुआ

Transliteration

śrīḥ sambhūtā yato devī patnī dharmasya dhīmataḥ |

Translation

毗湿摩说道：从主毗湿奴额间显现的那朵金色莲华中，吉祥女神室利（Śrī）诞生了——她被称为睿智之法神达摩（Dharma）的配偶。此段强调：繁荣与吉庆（Śrī）并非偶然所得，而是出自与达摩相应的神圣源头；唯有与正义相连，方能安立其根基。

Word by Word

• श्रीः: Śrī (the goddess of fortune)
• श्रीः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• सम्भूता: arisen, manifested
• सम्भूता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-भू (भू)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• यतः: from whom/whence
• यतः: Apadana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्
• Form: relative adverb

• देवी: the goddess
• देवी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• पत्नी: wife
• पत्नी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्नी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• धर्मस्य: of Dharma
• धर्मस्य: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• धीमतः: of the wise (one)
• धीमतः: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धीमत्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Śrī (Lakṣmī)
• Dharma
• Viṣṇu
• golden lotus (suvarṇamaya kamala)
• forehead (lalāṭa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Śrī (prosperity and auspiciousness) is portrayed as arising from a divine source and being properly established when aligned with Dharma; true fortune is ethically grounded rather than merely material.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes a cosmogonic detail: a golden lotus manifests on Viṣṇu’s forehead, and from it the goddess Śrī appears, identified as the consort of the wise Dharma.