Shloka 22
Yogakṣema, Purohita, and the Mucukunda–Vaiśravaṇa Dialogue (योगक्षेम–पुरोहित–मुचुकुन्दवैश्रवणसंवादः)
नित्योदकी ब्राह्मण:स्यान्नित्यशस्त्रश्न क्षत्रिय: । तयोर्हि सर्वमायत्तं यत् किज्चिज्जगतीगतम्
nityodakī brāhmaṇaḥ syān nityaśastraśna kṣatriyaḥ | tayor hi sarvam āyattaṃ yat kiñcij jagatīgatam ||
Bhishma said: “A brāhmaṇa should be ever devoted to the rites of water—daily purification, offerings, and disciplined observance; and a kṣatriya should be ever devoted to weapons—their use and mastery. For upon these two depends everything that moves within the world.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that social and moral stability rests on each order fulfilling its defining discipline: the brāhmaṇa through continual purity, ritual, and sacred observance, and the kṣatriya through continual readiness and skill in protection and governance. When these two uphold their dharma, the world’s order is sustained.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he summarizes the foundational responsibilities of brāhmaṇas and kṣatriyas, emphasizing their complementary roles in maintaining the world’s functioning.