Śīla Varṇanam

The Śīla Varṇanam is a teaching in the Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Rājadharmānuśāsana Parva, Chapter 124. It tells how Indra, the king of the devas, disguised himself as a brāhmaṇa and asked the asura king Prahlāda for his śīla (exemplary conduct and virtue) as a vara (a boon). When śīla left Prahlāda’s body, dharma, truth, right conduct, strength and Lakshmī all left after it.

The setting

The chapter sits inside the wider talk about Dhṛtarāshṭra and Duryodhana. Bhīshma connects the teaching to the failure of Duryodhana’s reign, which came from the absence of śīla in Dhṛtarāshṭra’s house. The teaching explains why a kingdom without righteous conduct in the end loses everything.

Indra approaches Prahlāda

Indra became curious about the great power and prosperity of Prahlāda. Prahlāda was an asura king and a supreme devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Yet he shone with a śakti (power) that Indra could not explain by worldly means.

Indra disguised himself as a brāhmaṇa and went to Prahlāda. He sat near him, learned from him and watched the quality of his being. After a long time together, Indra named the source of Prahlāda’s greatness:

“Your śīla, your exemplary conduct, your virtue in thought, word and deed, is the source of your greatness.”

Then Indra asked: “Please give me this śīla as a vara.”

Prahlāda was always generous, and he granted the request.

The cascade: śīla leaves and everything follows

At the moment śīla left Prahlāda’s body, something remarkable happened. Śīla did not leave alone. It took with it everything that had lived in Prahlāda because of śīla.

  1. Śīla leaves first. It is the foundation.
  2. Dharma (righteousness) leaves. Dharma lives within the śīlavān (the person who has śīla). Without śīla, dharma has no home.
  3. Satya (truth) leaves. Satya is held up by conduct that follows dharma.
  4. Vṛtta (righteous behaviour, conduct) leaves. It is the outer form of the inner śīla.
  5. Bala (strength, power) leaves. Strength is held up by dharma and truth.
  6. Lakshmī leaves last. The devī Lakshmī herself had lived with Prahlāda, and she followed the departing śīla out of him.

Lakshmī then went to Indra. Prahlāda saw her there. He understood what had happened, and he accepted it inwardly without complaint.

What śīla is

Through this account, śīla is shown not as outward good manners but as a living power.

Śīla is ahiṃsā (non-harm) in thought, word and deed, together with anugraha (kindness toward all beings) and dāna (giving).

Śīla is more than “good behaviour”. It is a positive presence that lives in a person. By living there, it draws dharma, satya, vṛtta, bala and Lakshmī to that person. When śīla is present, all of these dwell together in the one who has it. When śīla leaves, they all leave one after another. They are not destroyed. They leave because they have lost the home in which they naturally live.

How to obtain śīla

The closing teaching says how śīla is gained in the first place: through sevā (service) of dharmic brāhmaṇas. These are people who themselves have śīla, know the Vedas and stand firm in dharma. Serving them slowly places śīla in the one who serves, the sevaka. Willpower alone cannot make it. It is received by staying near, and serving, those who carry it.

The teaching

Śīla is a living presence, not an idea. When it is present or absent, the results spread through the whole world. A king or a kingdom that loses śīla loses dharma, then truth, then strength, and at last prosperity itself. The order of leaving is part of the teaching:

  • conduct (śīla)
  • righteousness (dharma)
  • truth (satya)
  • behaviour (vṛtta)
  • power (bala)
  • prosperity (Lakshmī)

Sources

  • Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Rājadharmānuśāsana Parva, Chapter 124