Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.5.28
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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tri-vargaḥ
—
the three aims of life
Tri + varga: dharma, artha, kāma. The classical Vedic triad — to which mokṣa is added as fourth. Vasudeva's insight: the tri-varga is not self-sufficient; its goodness is conditioned on the welfare of one's circle.
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vihitaḥ
—
enjoined, prescribed
Vi + hita, past participle of √dhā: 'placed forth.' The same root as vidhi. The tri-varga is what the śāstra prescribes for a householder — and yet it functions only relationally, not as an end in itself.
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suhṛdaḥ
—
friends
Suhṛd: 'good-hearted.' Specifically used for relatives and friends who wish one well without expectation. Gauḍīya: the highest suhṛd is Kṛṣṇa Himself (BG 5.29, suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ). But here Vasudeva names the human suhṛd circle.
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kliśyamāneṣu
—
when they are in distress
Present passive participle of √kliś ('to afflict, to suffer'). The same root as kleśa (the five afflictions of yoga-sūtra). Vasudeva names suffering with the technical word — the welfare he asks after is freedom from kleśa for the friends.
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arthāya-kalpate
—
becomes for the purpose
Artha (purpose, meaning) + kalpate (from √kḷp, 'to be fit for'). The verse's hinge: the tri-varga 'is fit for its purpose' only when relations are well. If the people one loves are suffering, the tri-varga is structurally hollow — a Gauḍīya warning against private prosperity.
Vasudeva regretfully informed Nanda Mahārāja that although he had his wife and children, he could not properly discharge his duty of maintaining them and was therefore unhappy.
To express that fact that his household life is failure, Vasudeva speaks this verse. "For a jiva (pumsa) the three vargas are prescribed by scripture for the purpose of satisfying wife and children (suhrdah). In my case, by being separated from wife and child and causing them suffering, not raising my son, the three vargas are useless. Thus my household life has been a failure."
By protecting a friend’s son, you have achieved great success. Though I have wealth, at this time I am not successful because of suffering for my son and family. Pumṣaḥ indicates mankind in general and also a heroic man. The three vargas of mankind must be endowed with wife and son according to scriptures. When wife and son are suffering, there can be no happiness from the three vargas only suffering, for dharma is not properly respected. Smṛti says vṛddhau ca mātāpitarau sādhvī bhāryā sutaḥ śiśuḥ apy akārya-śataṁ kṛtvā bhartavyā manur abravīt Manu has said that the elders, mother, father, the chaste wife, sons and babies should be protected even if one commits hundreds of offenses to do so. Padma Purāṇa
- Name the people in your charge today — spouse, children, parents, dependents — and check whether your dharma, work, and pleasures are actually reaching them or bypassing them.
- Refuse to console yourself with religious activity, income, or enjoyment while someone you are responsible for is quietly in distress — address the distress first.
- Offer one concrete act of seva to a family member today — practical maintenance, attentive listening, or spiritual nourishment — as the proof that your tri-varga is genuine.
A house with strong walls but a sick mother gives no comfort to its children. So too, dharma, artha, and kāma — the three columns of a worldly life — give comfort only when the people one loves are well. Vasudeva's principle is precise: the three aims of life depend on the welfare of friends and relatives.
My note
Source: vedabase.io