Shloka 20
Kośa, Bala, and Maryādā: Treasury, Capacity, and Enforceable Limits (कोश-बल-मर्यादा)
क्षत्रियो वृत्तिसंरोधे कस्य नादातुमर्हति । अन्यत्र तापसस्वाच्च ब्राह्मणस्वाच्च भारत
kṣatriyo vṛttisaṃrodhe kasya nādātum arhati | anyatra tāpasasvāc ca brāhmaṇasvāc ca bhārata bharatanandana ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «Cuando se corta el sustento de un kṣatriya, ¿de quién no le está permitido tomar (riqueza)? De cualquiera—salvo de un asceta y de un brāhmaṇa, oh Bhārata, deleite de los Bharatas. En tal apuro puede tomar de otros, pero no debe violar la propiedad protegida de quienes se consagran a la austeridad y a la vida védica.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
In a survival crisis (āpaddharma), a kṣatriya may procure resources even by taking wealth, but dharma sets firm limits: the property of ascetics and brāhmaṇas is specially protected and must not be seized.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on rājadharma and exceptional rules for times of distress. Here he clarifies what a kṣatriya may do when deprived of livelihood, while exempting ascetics and brāhmaṇas from such exactions.