Shloka 16
Vasiṣṭha–Karāla-Janaka Saṃvāda: Aśuddha-Sevana, Guṇa-Dr̥ṣṭi, and Sāṃkhya–Yoga Ekārthatā
Mahābhārata 12.293
जो राजा धर्मपूर्वक प्रजाकी रक्षा करता है
yo rājā dharmapūrvakaṁ prajāyāḥ rakṣāṁ karoti, sa tasya dharmācaraṇasyaiva kāraṇāl loke pūjito bhavati. evaṁ yaḥ brāhmaṇo dharmapūrvakaṁ svādhyāyaṁ karoti, yaś ca vaiśyo dharmānusāreṇa dhanopārjane tatparo bhavati, yaś ca śūdro jitendriyabhāvena sthitvā sarvadā dvijātīnāṁ sevāṁ karoti, te sarve sva-sva-dharmācaraṇakāraṇāl loke sammānitā bhavanti. narendra, viparītam ācaran sarve svadharmād bhraśyanti. prāṇasaṁtāpanirdiṣṭāḥ kākiṇyo ’pi mahāphalāḥ; nyāyenopārjitā dattāḥ, kim utānyāḥ sahasraśaḥ.
Parāśara said: A king who protects his subjects in accordance with dharma is honored in the world precisely because of that righteous conduct. In the same way, a brāhmaṇa who pursues sacred study (svādhyāya) in a dharmic manner, a vaiśya who diligently acquires wealth according to dharma, and a śūdra who, with senses restrained, continually serves the twice-born (dvija)—each is respected in society on account of faithfully performing his own duty. O lord of men, by acting contrary to this, people fall away from their dharma. Even a few kākiṇī coins—though earned with hardship that strains one’s very life—become greatly fruitful when given in charity if acquired justly; how much more, then, gifts of other things in their thousands.
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Social honor and spiritual merit arise from faithfully performing one’s own dharma: the king by protection, the brāhmaṇa by sacred study, the vaiśya by lawful wealth-making, and the śūdra by disciplined service. Even a tiny gift becomes highly meritorious when earned justly and given rightly.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Parāśara addresses a king (narendra), outlining how each social role is validated by dharmic action and warning that contrary behavior causes a fall from svadharma; he then emphasizes the superior fruit of charity made from honestly earned resources, even if the amount is small.