Shloka 3
भीष्मजीने कहा--राजन! यदि ब्राह्मण अपनी जीविका नष्ट होनेपर आपत्तिकालमें क्षत्रियधर्मसे भी जीवननिर्वाह न कर सके तो वैश्यधर्मके अनुसार खेती और गोरक्षाका आश्रय लेकर वह अपनी जीविका चलावे ।। युधिछिर उवाच कानि पण्यानि विक्रीय स्वर्गलोकान्न हीयते । ब्राह्मणो वैश्यधर्मेण वर्तयन् भरतर्षभ,युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--भरतश्रेष्ठ] यह तो बताइये कि यदि ब्राह्मण वैश्यधर्मसे जीविका चलाते समय व्यापार भी करे तो किन-किन वस्तुओंका क्रय-विक्रय करनेसे वह स्वर्गलोककी प्राप्तिके अधिकारसे वज्चित नहीं होगा
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kāni paṇyāni vikrīya svargalokān na hīyate | brāhmaṇo vaiśyadharmeṇa vartayan bharatarṣabha ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O bull among the Bharatas, if a brāhmaṇa maintains himself by adopting the livelihood of a vaiśya, which goods may he buy and sell without thereby falling away from his claim to heaven?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry: when a brāhmaṇa adopts vaiśya-style livelihood for survival, he must still avoid trades that compromise purity and merit; Yudhiṣṭhira asks which commodities are permissible so that worldly necessity does not destroy spiritual eligibility (svarga).
In the Śānti Parva dialogue on dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira questions the elder authority about rules for conduct in altered social roles—specifically, permissible commerce for a brāhmaṇa living by vaiśya-dharma—seeking clarity on what kinds of buying and selling do not cause loss of religious merit.