Shloka 3
Adhyāya 90 — Protection of Livelihoods, Brahmanical Subsistence Norms, and Royal Oversight (राष्ट्रवृत्ति-राष्ट्रगुप्ति-उपदेशः)
विप्रश्नेत् त्यागमातिष्ठेदात्मार्थ वृत्तिकर्शित: । परिकल्प्यास्य वृत्ति: स्थात् सदारस्य नराधिप
bhīṣma uvāca | vipraḥ śneta tyāgam ātiṣṭhed ātmārtha-vṛtti-karśitaḥ | parikalpyāsya vṛttiḥ sthāt sadāraś ca narādhipa, rājan |
Bhishma said: “O king, if a brahmin, worn down by the lack of livelihood for his own maintenance, is about to abandon the realm and depart elsewhere, then it is the ruler’s duty—O lord of men—to arrange his means of subsistence, ensuring that he and his family can remain supported. In this way the king upholds dharma by protecting learning and those who live by it.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king must ensure that a brahmin who is weakened by lack of livelihood is provided for—along with his household—so that he need not abandon the kingdom; this is presented as a concrete obligation of rajadharma.
In Bhishma’s instruction to the king during the Shanti Parva, he describes a scenario where a brahmin, unable to sustain himself, prepares to leave the realm; Bhishma states that the ruler should intervene by arranging stable support for the brahmin and his family.