Shloka 11
Vasiṣṭha–Karāla-Janaka Saṃvāda: Aśuddha-Sevana, Guṇa-Dr̥ṣṭi, and Sāṃkhya–Yoga Ekārthatā
Mahābhārata 12.293
तमर्चयित्वा वैश्यस्तु कुर्यादत्यर्थमृद्धिमत् । रक्षितव्यं तु राजन्यैरुपयोज्यं द्विजातिभि:
tam arcayitvā vaiśyas tu kuryād atyartham ṛddhimat | rakṣitavyaṃ tu rājanyair upayojyaṃ dvijātibhiḥ ||
Parāśara dijo: «Habiéndolo honrado debidamente, el vaiśya debe hacerlo sumamente próspero—mediante el cultivo, la cría de ganado y medios afines. Los kṣatriyas han de protegerlo, y los nacidos dos veces deben emplearlo rectamente—usando la riqueza y el grano en sacrificios y obras de beneficio público, tras abandonar la torcedura, el engaño y la ira.»
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Prosperity and social stability arise when each group fulfills its dharmic role: the Vaiśya generates abundance, the Kṣatriya protects it, and the twice-born employ it responsibly for yajña and public good, restraining moral faults like deceit and anger.
In a didactic passage of the Śānti Parva, Parāśara instructs on the proper maintenance of society: honoring the sustaining resource (wealth/grain/means of livelihood), increasing it through productive work, ensuring its protection by rulers, and directing its use by the learned toward righteous and welfare-oriented ends.