Shloka 16
दैव–पुरुषकार-प्रश्नः
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Inquiry: Fate and Human Effort
शौचेन लभते विे्र: क्षत्रियो विक्रमेण तु । वैश्य: पुरुषकारेण शूद्र: शुश्रूषया श्रियम्,ब्राह्मण शौचाचारसे, क्षत्रिय पराक्रमसे, वैश्य उद्योगसे तथा शूद्र तीनों वर्णोकी सेवासे सम्पत्ति पाता है
śaucena labhate vipraḥ kṣatriyo vikrameṇa tu | vaiśyaḥ puruṣakāreṇa śūdraḥ śuśrūṣayā śriyam ||
Bhīṣma said: “A brāhmaṇa attains prosperity through purity and disciplined conduct; a kṣatriya through valor and heroic effort; a vaiśya through industrious enterprise; and a śūdra through devoted service. Thus, each social order reaches well-being by faithfully practicing its own proper means.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Prosperity and well-being arise when each varṇa follows its appropriate discipline: purity and right conduct for the brāhmaṇa, valor for the kṣatriya, industrious effort for the vaiśya, and devoted service for the śūdra.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on dharma and proper conduct. Here he summarizes how different social orders are expected to pursue prosperity through their characteristic virtues and duties.