Shloka 9
Purohita-Niyoga and the Brahma–Kṣatra Concord
Aila–Kaśyapa Saṃvāda
नैषां ब्रह्म च वर्धते नोत पुत्रा न गर्गरो मथ्यते नो यजन्ते । नैषां पुत्रा वेदमधीयते च यदा ब्रद्ा क्षत्रिया: संत्यजन्ति,जब क्षत्रिय ब्राह्मणको त्याग देते हैं, तब उनका वेदाध्ययन आगे नहीं बढ़ता, उनके पुत्रोंकी भी वृद्धि नहीं होती, उनके यहाँ दही-दूधका मटका नहीं मथा जाता और न वे यज्ञ ही कर पाते हैं। इतना ही नहीं, उन ब्राह्मणोंके पुत्रोंका वेदाध्ययन भी नहीं हो पाता
Kāśyapa uvāca: naiṣāṃ brahma ca vardhate notputrā na gargarō mathyate no yajante | naiṣāṃ putrā vedam adhīyate ca yadā brāhmaṇān kṣatriyāḥ saṃtyajanti ||
Kāśyapa said: “When the kṣatriyas abandon the brāhmaṇas, the sacred learning among those people does not flourish. Their line does not prosper; the household’s ordinary rites of sustenance fail—milk and curd are not churned—and they are unable to perform sacrifices. Even their sons do not succeed in studying the Veda.”
कश्यप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that a stable dharmic society depends on mutual support between rulers (kṣatriyas) and spiritual-teaching authorities (brāhmaṇas). When rulers withdraw protection and patronage from brāhmaṇas, Vedic learning, ritual life (yajña), and even household prosperity and lineage continuity decline.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and governance, Kāśyapa explains to his listener the social and ethical consequences of kṣatriyas neglecting brāhmaṇas. He illustrates the breakdown through concrete signs: loss of Vedic study, inability to perform sacrifices, and disruption of ordinary household sustenance practices like churning curd.