Shloka 7
न शौद्रं कर्म कर्तव्यं ब्राह्मणेन विपश्चिता । शौद्रं हि कुर्वतः कर्म धर्म: समुपरुध्यते,“दिद्वान् ब्राह्मणको शूद्रोचित कर्म नहीं करना चाहिये। शूद्रके कर्म करनेसे उसका धर्म नष्ट हो जाता है
na śaudraṃ karma kartavyaṃ brāhmaṇena vipaścitā | śaudraṃ hi kurvataḥ karma dharmaḥ samuparudhyate |
Bhīṣma dijo: «Un brāhmana perspicaz no debe emprender labores propias de un śūdra. Pues cuando hace del trabajo de tipo śūdra su oficio, su propio dharma queda obstruido y decae.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that one should adhere to one’s prescribed dharma: a wise Brāhmaṇa should not adopt as his vocation the kinds of work socially assigned to a Śūdra, because such role-confusion is said to hinder and erode his own dharmic standing and discipline.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and proper conduct. Here he states a rule about occupational propriety within varṇa-based duties, warning that taking up another varṇa’s work obstructs one’s dharma.