Shloka 21
अव्यक्त-प्रबोधः (Awakening to the Unmanifest): The 25th and 26th Principles and Eligibility for Brahma-vidyā
कृषिश्च पाशुपाल्यं च वाणिज्यं च विशामपि । द्विजानां परिचर्या च शूद्रकर्म नराधिप,नरेश्वर! कृषि, पशुपालन और व्यापार--ये वैश्योंके कर्म हैं तथा द्विजातियोंकी सेवा शूद्रका धर्म है
kṛṣiś ca pāśupālyaṃ ca vāṇijyaṃ ca viśām api | dvijānāṃ paricaryā ca śūdrakarma narādhipa ||
Parāśara said: “Agriculture, the tending of cattle, and trade are the duties of the Vaiśyas. Service and attendance upon the twice-born is the proper work of the Śūdra, O king.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse outlines varṇa-based duties: Vaiśyas are associated with cultivation, animal husbandry, and commerce, while the Śūdra’s prescribed role is service to the twice-born. It frames social ethics in terms of assigned responsibilities (svadharma) meant to sustain societal functioning.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, the sage Parāśara addresses a king and enumerates occupational duties for different social orders, presenting a normative rule of conduct and social organization.