Shloka 14
आपद्धर्मे वैश्यवृत्तिः, विक्रय-निषेधाः, तथा ब्रह्म-क्षत्र-सम्बन्धः
Emergency Livelihood, Prohibited Trade, and Brahman–Kshatra Regulation
भीष्म उवाच दानेन तपसा यज्ञैरद्रोहेण दमेन च । ब्राह्मणप्रमुखा वर्णा: क्षेममिच्छेयुरात्मन:
bhīṣma uvāca dānena tapasā yajñair adroheṇa damena ca | brāhmaṇa-pramukhā varṇāḥ kṣemam iccheyur ātmanaḥ ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Durch Freigebigkeit, Askese, Opferhandlungen, Nicht-Feindseligkeit und Selbstzucht sollen die Stände —angeführt von den Brahmanen— ihr eigenes Wohlergehen und ihre Sicherheit erstreben.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that true welfare (kṣema) is secured through a cluster of dharmic disciplines—charity, austerity, sacrificial duty, freedom from malice, and self-restraint. These are presented as practical means for both personal stability and social harmony.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on righteous conduct after the war. Here he lays down a normative guideline for the varṇas, especially under Brahmana leadership, to pursue peace and well-being through ethical and religious practices rather than hostility.