Dharma is the means to bring about a benefit in one’s next life. [The dharma of a kṣatriya], in the form of managing one’s citizens, is “in front of him,” that is, it is filled with visible detachment and enjoyment. [However,] the dharma of an ascetic [vānaprastha] is “doubtful,” that is, it is doubtful whether it will lead to its [promised] results since there is the possibility of bodily injury and so on. It is “undefined,” that is, it is hard to understand whether [executing it] is due to the power of one’s endeavors or the remote consequence [of an activity performed in a past life]. It is “slow,” that is, it takes time to produce results. And the dharma of a vānaprastha is “unascertained,” that is, not ascertained through any source of valid knowledge that it should be carried out by a kṣatriya in the beginning.¹ So which kṣatriya would carry it out [in the beginning]? Nobody. [These were the thoughts of Bharata.]