Shloka 9
Brāhmaṇa-Dharma, Āśrama Eligibility, and the Primacy of Rāja-Dharma (Śānti Parva 63)
वृद्धा कृषिवणिक्त्वेन जीवसंजीवनेन च । वेत्तुमहसि राजेन्द्र स्वाध्यायगणितं महत्
vṛddhā kṛṣivaṇiktvena jīvasaṃjīvanena ca | vettum arhasi rājendra svādhyāyagaṇitaṃ mahat ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O best of kings, understand this: just as the Vaiśya’s great means of livelihood are lending at interest, agriculture, and trade, and just as the Kṣatriya’s duty is the protection and governance of subjects, so for Brāhmaṇas the truly great work is svādhyāya—study and recitation of the Veda.”
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharma through role-based duties: livelihood and social function differ by varna, and for Brāhmaṇas the highest, defining work is svādhyāya—disciplined Vedic study and recitation—paralleling the Vaiśya’s economic occupations and the Kṣatriya’s duty of protecting subjects.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma after the war, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses the senior authority (Bhīṣma) and articulates a comparison of occupational duties, emphasizing that Brāhmaṇas are primarily sustained and defined by sacred learning (svādhyāya), just as other social orders are defined by their respective functions.