Shloka 8
Adhyāya 90 — Protection of Livelihoods, Brahmanical Subsistence Norms, and Royal Oversight (राष्ट्रवृत्ति-राष्ट्रगुप्ति-उपदेशः)
तस्यां प्रवर्तमानायां ये स्युस्तत्परिपन्थिन: । दस्यवस्तद्व धायेह ब्रह्मा क्षत्रमथासृजत्
tasyāṃ pravartamānāyāṃ ye syus tat-paripanthinaḥ | dasyavas tad-vadhāyeha brahmā kṣatram athāsṛjat ||
Bhīṣma said: “When the Vedic discipline is being carried on—its study, teaching, and the performance of Veda-enjoined sacrifices—those who obstruct it are to be regarded as robbers. For the very purpose of restraining and slaying such marauders here in the world, Brahmā created the Kṣatriya order.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the Kṣatriya’s raison d’être as the protection of Vedic learning and Veda-based sacrificial order; those who violently obstruct these are labeled 'dasyu' and are to be restrained—even killed—so that dharma and social stability are preserved.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and governance, Bhīṣma explains to Yudhiṣṭhira why the warrior-royal class exists: Brahmā instituted kṣatra (royal power) to counter disruptive forces that hinder Vedic study, teaching, and ritual performance.