Shloka 23
आपद्धर्मे वैश्यवृत्तिः, विक्रय-निषेधाः, तथा ब्रह्म-क्षत्र-सम्बन्धः
Emergency Livelihood, Prohibited Trade, and Brahman–Kshatra Regulation
यदा छिनत्त्ययो5श्मानमनग्निश्चापो5भिगच्छति । क्षत्रं च ब्राह्माणं द्वेष्टि तदा नश्यन्ति ते त्रयः
yadā chinatty ayo'śmānam anagniś cāpo'bhigacchati | kṣatraṃ ca brāhmaṇaṃ dveṣṭi tadā naśyanti te trayaḥ ||
ভীষ্ম বললেন—যখন লোহা পাথর কাটতে শুরু করে, যখন আগুন জলকে অভিমুখী হয়, আর যখন ক্ষত্রিয় ব্রাহ্মণকে ঘৃণা করতে থাকে—তখন সেই তিনটিই বিনষ্ট হয়।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that dharma depends on right relations and natural propriety: when roles invert and the kṣatriya turns hostile to the brāhmaṇa (royal power against spiritual-ethical authority), the foundations of order fail, leading to ruin.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on governance and dharma. Here he uses striking impossibilities/contrary pairings (iron cutting stone, fire going to water) as a proverbial warning that certain reversals—especially hatred between kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa—signal destruction.