महाभारतः mahābhārataḥ - book-13, chapter-100, verse-4

वासुदेव उवाच ।
गार्हस्थ्यं धर्ममाश्रित्य मया वा मद्विधेन वा ।
किमवश्यं धरे कार्यं किं वा कृत्वा सुखी भवेत् ॥४॥

4. vāsudeva uvāca ,
gārhasthyaṁ dharmamāśritya mayā vā madvidhena vā ,
kimavaśyaṁ dhare kāryaṁ kiṁ vā kṛtvā sukhī bhavet.

4. vāsudevaḥ uvāca gārhasthyam dharmam āśritya mayā vā madvidhena
vā kim avaśyam dhare kāryam kim vā kṛtvā sukhī bhavet

4. vāsudevaḥ uvāca dhare gārhasthyam dharmam āśritya mayā vā
madvidhena vā kim avaśyam kāryam vā kim kṛtvā sukhī bhavet

4. Vasudeva said: O Earth, having adopted the householder's way of life (dharma), what must necessarily be done by me or by someone like me? Or, by doing what would one become happy?

Words meanings summery:

• वासुदेवः (vāsudevaḥ) - Lord Krishna (Vasudeva (Krishna))

• उवाच (uvāca) - said, spoke

• गार्हस्थ्यम् (gārhasthyam) - the householder's way of life (householder's state, domestic life)

• धर्मम् (dharmam) - the householder's duties or way of life (dharma) (duty, righteousness, intrinsic nature, law)

• आश्रित्य (āśritya) - having adopted (having resorted to, having taken refuge in, having adopted)

• मया (mayā) - by me

• वा (vā) - or

• मद्विधेन (madvidhena) - by one like me

• वा (vā) - or

• किम् (kim) - what (interrogative pronoun) (what, which)

• अवश्यम् (avaśyam) - necessarily (necessarily, certainly, indispensably)

• धरे (dhare) - O Earth (vocative, addressing the Earth goddess) (O Earth, O supporter)

• कार्यम् (kāryam) - what is to be done (to be done, duty, action, work)

• किम् (kim) - what (interrogative pronoun) (what, which)

• वा (vā) - or

• कृत्वा (kṛtvā) - by doing (having done, by doing)

• सुखी (sukhī) - happy (happy, joyful)

• भवेत् (bhavet) - would one become (may one be, should be, would be)

Words meanings and morphology

वासुदेवः (vāsudevaḥ) - Lord Krishna (Vasudeva (Krishna))

(proper noun)

Nominative, masculine, singular of vāsudeva

vāsudeva - son of Vasudeva, Krishna

patronymic from Vasudeva

उवाच (uvāca) - said, spoke

(verb)

3rd person , singular, active, perfect past (lit) of vac

perfect tense form of √vac

Root: vac (class 2)

गार्हस्थ्यम् (gārhasthyam) - the householder's way of life (householder's state, domestic life)

(noun)

Accusative, neuter, singular of gārhasthya

gārhasthya - householder's state, domestic life, householder's duty

from gṛhastha

Note: Adjective-like here, qualifying dharma.

धर्मम् (dharmam) - the householder's duties or way of life (dharma) (duty, righteousness, intrinsic nature, law)

(noun)

Accusative, masculine, singular of dharma

dharma - righteousness, duty, law, virtue, intrinsic nature, constitution

from √dhṛ 'to uphold'

Root: dhṛ (class 1)

Note: Object of 'āśritya'.

आश्रित्य (āśritya) - having adopted (having resorted to, having taken refuge in, having adopted)

(indeclinable)

absolutive (gerund)

absolutive form from √śri with prefix ā

Prefix: ā

Root: śri (class 1)

Note: It is an indeclinable verbal form (absolutive).

मया (mayā) - by me

(pronoun)

Instrumental, singular of asmad

asmad - I, me

Note: Agent in a passive or impersonal construction.

वा (vā) - or

(indeclinable)

Note: Conjunction.

मद्विधेन (madvidhena) - by one like me

(adjective)

Instrumental, masculine, singular of madvidha

madvidha - like me, of my kind

Compound type : bahuvrihi (mad+vidha)

• mad – me (stem of asmad)
  pronoun
• vidha – kind, sort, type
  noun (masculine)

Note: Refers to another householder like Krishna.

वा (vā) - or

(indeclinable)

Note: Conjunction.

किम् (kim) - what (interrogative pronoun) (what, which)

(pronoun)

Nominative, neuter, singular of kim

kim - what, which, who (interrogative pronoun)

Note: Can also be accusative singular. Here it is the subject/object of 'kāryam'.

अवश्यम् (avaśyam) - necessarily (necessarily, certainly, indispensably)

(indeclinable)

Note: Adverb modifying 'kāryam'.

धरे (dhare) - O Earth (vocative, addressing the Earth goddess) (O Earth, O supporter)

(proper noun)

Vocative, feminine, singular of dharā

dharā - Earth, land, supporter

feminine of dhara, from √dhṛ

Root: dhṛ (class 1)

कार्यम् (kāryam) - what is to be done (to be done, duty, action, work)

(noun)

Nominative, neuter, singular of kārya

kārya - to be done, duty, action, work

gerundive (future passive participle)

gerundive from √kṛ

Root: kṛ (class 8)

Note: Can also be accusative singular. Here, it functions as a noun 'what is to be done'.

किम् (kim) - what (interrogative pronoun) (what, which)

(pronoun)

Accusative, neuter, singular of kim

kim - what, which, who (interrogative pronoun)

Note: Object of 'kṛtvā'.

वा (vā) - or

(indeclinable)

Note: Conjunction.

कृत्वा (kṛtvā) - by doing (having done, by doing)

(indeclinable)

absolutive (gerund)

absolutive form from √kṛ

Root: kṛ (class 8)

Note: It is an indeclinable verbal form (absolutive).

सुखी (sukhī) - happy (happy, joyful)

(adjective)

Nominative, masculine, singular of sukhin

sukhin - happy, joyful, comfortable

from sukha with possessive suffix -in

Note: Predicative adjective.

भवेत् (bhavet) - would one become (may one be, should be, would be)

(verb)

3rd person , singular, active, optative (liṅ) of bhū

optative mood, 3rd person singular, active voice of √bhū

Root: bhū (class 1)

Note: Expresses possibility or wish.