Shloka 28

Devanagari script

प्रजापतिर्हि वर्णानां दासं शूद्रमकल्पयत्‌ । तस्माच्छुद्रस्य वर्णानां परिचर्या विधीयते,प्रजापतिने अन्य तीनों वर्णोके सेवकके रूपमें शूद्रकी सृष्टि की है; अतः शूद्रके लिये तीनों वर्णोकी सेवा ही शास्त्र-विहित कर्म है

Transliteration

prajāpatir hi varṇānāṃ dāsaṃ śūdram akalpayat | tasmāc chūdrasya varṇānāṃ paricaryā vidhīyate ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Denn Prajāpati formte den Śūdra als Diener der (anderen) gesellschaftlichen Stände (varṇa). Darum ist für den Śūdra der Dienst und die Aufwartung gegenüber den übrigen varṇas als vorgeschriebene Pflicht festgesetzt.“

Word by Word

प्रजापतिःPrajapati (the creator)

हिindeed/for

वर्णानाम्of the varnas (social classes)

दासम्a servant

शूद्रम्the Shudra

अकल्पयत्created/ordained/made

तस्मात्therefore/from that

शूद्रस्यof the Shudra

वर्णानाम्of the (other) varnas

परिचर्याservice/attendance

विधीयतेis prescribed/is enjoined

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Prajāpati

Śūdra

Varṇas

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?

The verse states a normative rule of varṇa-dharma: the Śūdra’s prescribed role is paricaryā—service/attendance—toward the other varṇas, presented as an ordinance traced to Prajāpati.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and social duties; here he articulates a traditional account of how the Śūdra’s occupational duty is defined within the varṇa framework.