Shloka 22
Yogakṣema, Purohita, and the Mucukunda–Vaiśravaṇa Dialogue (योगक्षेम–पुरोहित–मुचुकुन्दवैश्रवणसंवादः)
नित्योदकी ब्राह्मण:स्यान्नित्यशस्त्रश्न क्षत्रिय: । तयोर्हि सर्वमायत्तं यत् किज्चिज्जगतीगतम्
nityodakī brāhmaṇaḥ syān nityaśastraśna kṣatriyaḥ | tayor hi sarvam āyattaṃ yat kiñcij jagatīgatam ||
Bhīṣma sagte: „Ein Brāhmane soll stets den Wasserriten ergeben sein—täglicher Reinigung, Opfergaben und disziplinierter Befolgung—; und ein Kṣatriya soll stets den Waffen ergeben sein, ihrem Gebrauch und ihrer Meisterschaft. Denn von diesen beiden hängt wahrlich alles ab, was in der Welt geschieht.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that social and moral stability rests on each order fulfilling its defining discipline: the brāhmaṇa through continual purity, ritual, and sacred observance, and the kṣatriya through continual readiness and skill in protection and governance. When these two uphold their dharma, the world’s order is sustained.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he summarizes the foundational responsibilities of brāhmaṇas and kṣatriyas, emphasizing their complementary roles in maintaining the world’s functioning.