Shloka 34
अन्नदान-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Gift of Food) | Annadāna-Praśaṃsā
संस्पर्शपरिचर्यस्तु वैश्येन क्षत्रियेण च । ब्राह्मण अग्निके समान तेजस्वी हैं; अतः शूद्रको दूरसे ही उनकी सेवा करनी चाहिये। उनके शरीरके स्पर्शपूर्वक सेवा करनेका अधिकार केवल क्षत्रिय और वैश्यको ही है ।।
saṁsparśa-paricaryā tu vaiśyena kṣatriyeṇa ca | brāhmaṇāgnike samāna-tejasvī; ataḥ śūdraṁ dūrata eva teṣāṁ sevāṁ kartum arhati | teṣāṁ śarīra-saṁsparśa-pūrvakāyāḥ sevāyā adhikāraḥ kevalaṁ kṣatriya-vaiśyayoḥ || mṛdu-bhāvān satya-śīlān satya-dharmānupālakān ||
Bhīṣma said: “Service that involves physical contact is permitted only for a Kṣatriya and a Vaiśya. Since Brāhmaṇas are regarded as possessing a radiance comparable to fire, a Śūdra should serve them from a distance. The right to render service that requires touching their bodies belongs only to Kṣatriyas and Vaiśyas. (He further describes them as) gentle in disposition, truthful in conduct, and steadfast in upholding the dharma of truth.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a rule of varṇa-based propriety: intimate, touch-based personal service to Brāhmaṇas is restricted (here, to Kṣatriyas and Vaiśyas), while others should serve without bodily contact. It also links Brāhmaṇas with ‘fire-like’ tejas and highlights virtues such as gentleness and truthfulness.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and proper conduct. Here he lays down norms about how different social groups should render service to Brāhmaṇas and begins/continues a description of the qualities of exemplary Brāhmaṇas (gentle, truthful, upholders of truth).