Shloka 10
धर्मनिन्दा–धर्मोपासनाफलम् तथा साध्वाचारलक्षणम्
Fruits of Disparaging vs. Observing Dharma; Marks of Good Conduct
वैश्यकर्म च यो विप्रो लोभमोहव्यपाश्रय: । ब्राह्माण्यं दुर्लभं प्राप्प करोत्यल्पमति: सदा
vaiśyakarma ca yo vipro lobhamohavyapāśrayaḥ | brāhmaṇyaṁ durlabhaṁ prāpya karoty alpamatiḥ sadā ||
Mahādeva dijo: «Un brāhmaṇa que, habiendo alcanzado el raro estado de brāhmaṇa, se vuelve dependiente de la codicia y el engaño y—por constante mezquindad de mente—toma el trabajo propio de un vaiśya, cae en un nacimiento vaiśya. Asimismo, si un vaiśya adopta la conducta y el trabajo de un śūdra, alcanza la condición de śūdra. Un brāhmaṇa que realiza actos propios de un śūdra y así se aparta de su propio dharma, llega a la condición de śūdra».
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that abandoning one’s own dharma out of greed and delusion leads to moral and spiritual decline, expressed here as a fall into a lower social condition/birth. It emphasizes integrity of conduct (ācāra) and self-restraint as safeguards of one’s station and responsibilities.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Mahādeva is speaking in a didactic context, laying down norms of conduct and consequences. Here he states that when members of a varṇa adopt the work and behavior of another varṇa due to base motives, they incur degradation, framed as rebirth into that lower status.