Shloka 3

Kṣātra-dharma as the Public Foundation of Dharma (क्षात्रधर्म-प्रशंसा)

Devanagari script

राजप्रेष्यं कृषिधनं जीवनं च वणिक्पथा । कौटिल्यं कौलटेयं च कुसीदं च विवर्जयेत्‌

Transliteration

rājapreṣyaṃ kṛṣidhanaṃ jīvanaṃ ca vaṇikpathā | kauṭilyaṃ kaulaṭeyaṃ ca kusīdaṃ ca vivarjayet |

Translation

Bhīṣma dijo: «Debe evitarse ganarse la vida como asalariado del rey, como riqueza obtenida de la agricultura tomada como único sustento, y por el camino mercantil del comercio; asimismo han de rehuirse el trato torcido, vivir del oficio de una cortesana y la usura.»

Word by Word

राजप्रेष्यम्service as a king’s servant (royal servitude)

कृषिधनम्wealth from agriculture

जीवनम्livelihood

चand

वणिक्पथाःthe ways/occupation of trade (merchant’s path)

कौटिल्यम्crookedness, deceit

कौलटेयम्being the son of a prostitute; base birth

चand

कुसीदम्usury, lending at interest

चand

विवर्जयेत्should avoid, should shun

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

king (rāja)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma advises choosing a livelihood aligned with dharma: avoid dependence on royal service, profit-seeking trades that can invite moral compromise, and especially avoid deceit, prostitution-based income, and usury—forms of earning seen as socially harmful or ethically corrosive.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he lists livelihoods and practices to be avoided, presenting a normative guideline for ethical conduct and social stability.