Shloka 12
कृषिगोरक्ष्यमप्येके भैक्ष्यमन्ये5प्यनुछ्िता: । चौराश्नान्येडनृताश्चान्ये तथान्ये नटनर्तका:,कोई-कोई ब्राह्मण खेती और गोरक्षासे जीवन चलाते हैं, कोई भिक्षापर जीवन-निर्वाह करते हैं, कितने ही चोरी करते हैं, कोई झूठ बोलते हैं और दूसरे कितने ही नटोंका तथा नाचनेका कार्य करते हैं
bhīṣma uvāca | kṛṣigorakṣyam apy eke bhaikṣyam anye 'py anuṣṭhitāḥ | caurāś cānye 'nṛtāś cānye tathānye naṭanartakāḥ ||
Bhishma said: Some (even among those who should live by higher disciplines) maintain themselves through farming and cattle-tending; others subsist on alms. Some take to theft, others to falsehood, and still others earn their living as actors and dancers. The point is the visible decline and confusion of proper livelihood, showing how people abandon prescribed duties and adopt questionable means of survival.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma highlights how people abandon prescribed, dharmic livelihoods and take up mixed or unethical means (alms, theft, lying, performance work), illustrating social and moral disorder and prompting reflection on right conduct and right livelihood.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he lists the various ways people sustain themselves—some acceptable, some blameworthy—to show the diversity and degeneration of conduct in society and to frame a discussion on proper duties and ethical living.