Shloka 20
Kośa, Bala, and Maryādā: Treasury, Capacity, and Enforceable Limits (कोश-बल-मर्यादा)
क्षत्रियो वृत्तिसंरोधे कस्य नादातुमर्हति । अन्यत्र तापसस्वाच्च ब्राह्मणस्वाच्च भारत
kṣatriyo vṛttisaṃrodhe kasya nādātum arhati | anyatra tāpasasvāc ca brāhmaṇasvāc ca bhārata bharatanandana ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Wenn einem Kṣatriya die Lebensgrundlage abgeschnitten ist, von wem darf er (Reichtum) nicht nehmen? Von jedem — außer von einem Asketen und einem Brāhmaṇa, o Bhārata, Wonne der Bharatas. In solcher Not darf er von anderen nehmen, doch das geschützte Eigentum derer, die der Askese und dem vedischen Leben geweiht sind, darf er nicht verletzen.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
In a survival crisis (āpaddharma), a kṣatriya may procure resources even by taking wealth, but dharma sets firm limits: the property of ascetics and brāhmaṇas is specially protected and must not be seized.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on rājadharma and exceptional rules for times of distress. Here he clarifies what a kṣatriya may do when deprived of livelihood, while exempting ascetics and brāhmaṇas from such exactions.