Shloka 10

Devanagari script

शूद्रकर्म तु यः कुर्यादवहाय स्वकर्म च । स विज्ञेयो यथा शूद्रो न च भोज्य: कदाचन,जो वैश्य अपना कर्म छोड़कर शूद्रका कर्म करता है, उसे शूद्रके समान ही जानना चाहिये और उसके यहाँ कभी भोजन नहीं करना चाहिये

Transliteration

śūdrakarma tu yaḥ kuryād avahāya svakarma ca | sa vijñeyo yathā śūdro na ca bhojyaḥ kadācana ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Wer seine eigene vorgeschriebene Pflicht aufgibt und stattdessen die Arbeit verrichtet, die einem Śūdra zugewiesen ist, der ist als Śūdra dem Stand nach zu erkennen; und man soll niemals Speise in seinem Hause annehmen.“

Word by Word

शूद्रकर्मthe work/duty of a Śūdra

तुbut/indeed

यःwho (he who)

कुर्यात्should do / were to do

अवहायhaving abandoned/neglected

स्वकर्मone's own duty/work

चand

सःhe

विज्ञेयःto be known/considered

यथाas/like

शूद्रःa Śūdra

नnot

चand

भोज्यःfit to be eaten/partaken of (i.e., whose food is acceptable)

कदाचनever/at any time

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Śūdra

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

One should not abandon one’s own prescribed duty (svakarma). Deliberately taking up work assigned to another varṇa—here described as śūdra-karma—marks a fall in recognized social/ritual standing, and traditional dharma-text logic treats such a person as unfit for commensality (food should not be accepted from him).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma is laying down norms of conduct and social-religious practice. This verse is part of his prescriptive guidance about varṇa-based duties and the consequences of neglecting one’s own dharma, including rules about whom it is proper to dine with or accept food from.