Shloka 7
अर्जुनस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति क्षात्रधर्मोपदेशः | Arjuna’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira on Kṣatra-Dharma
न त्यागो न पुनर्यज्ञो न तपो मनुजेश्वर । क्षत्रियस्यथ विधीयन्ते न परस्वोपजीवनम्,“नरेश्वर! क्षत्रियके लिये त्याग, यज्ञ, तप और दूसरेके धनसे जीवन-निर्वाहका विधान नहीं है
na tyāgo na punaryajño na tapo manujeśvara | kṣatriyasyātha vidhīyante na parasvopajīvanam ||
قال فايشَمبايانا: «يا سيّدَ الناس، ليس للكشاتريا حكمٌ مقررٌ بأن يعيشوا بالزهد، أو بالقرابين (اليَجْنَة)، أو بالتقشّف؛ ولا يُؤمَرون أن يقتاتوا بالاعتماد على مال غيرهم. إنما سبيلهم اللائق أن يقيموا واجبهم ومعاشهم وفق نهج الكشاتريا».
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes varṇa-appropriate duty: a kṣatriya’s prescribed path is not primarily renunciation, ritualism, or asceticism, nor dependence on others’ wealth, but sustaining himself through his own rightful means while upholding rāja-dharma.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma after the war, Vaiśampāyana reports a teaching addressed to a king, clarifying what is and is not enjoined for a kṣatriya as part of guidance on proper conduct and livelihood.