Shloka 3
यज्ञावाप्तिब्रल्चिणस्येह नित्यं घोरे युद्धे क्षत्रियाणां यशश्न । शेषौ वर्णो काममिष्टं लभेते पुत्रान् पौत्रान् नित्यमिष्टांस्तथैव
yajñāvāptir brāhmaṇasya iha nityaṁ ghore yuddhe kṣatriyāṇāṁ yaśaḥ | śeṣau varṇau kāmam iṣṭaṁ labhete putrān pautrān nityam iṣṭāṁs tathaiva ||
Sañjaya sprach: „In dieser Welt ist der beständige Gewinn des Brāhmaṇa die Frucht des Opfers; und in der schrecklichen Schlacht ist der beständige Gewinn der Kṣatriyas der Ruhm. Die beiden übrigen Stände mögen erlangen, was immer sie begehren—Söhne und Enkel, und ebenso andere gewünschte Ziele.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharma in terms of role-based aims: the Brāhmaṇa’s steady good is sacrificial merit, the Kṣatriya’s is renown earned in perilous battle, while the other varṇas pursue desired worldly goods such as family continuity. It presents a normative map of duties and their characteristic fruits.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, reflects on the differing ‘proper gains’ of the social orders in the context of the ongoing war, underscoring why warriors seek fame through combat while others are associated with ritual merit or household prosperity.