Shloka 11
Chapter 78: Royal Responsibility for Wealth, Social Order, and the Protection of Dvijas
Kekaya Exemplum
अधीयते>थध्यापयन्ति यजन्ते याजयन्ति च । ददति प्रतिगृह्नन्ति षट्सु कर्मस्ववस्थिता:,मेरे राज्यके ब्राह्मण पढ़ते-पढ़ाते, यज्ञ करते-कराते, दान देते और लेते हैं। इस प्रकार वे ब्राह्मणोचित छः कर्मोमें ही संलग्न रहते हैं
adhīyate ’thādhyāpayanti yajante yājayanti ca | dadati pratigṛhṇanti ṣaṭsu karmasv avasthitāḥ ||
En mi reino, los brahmanes estudian y enseñan; sacrifican y ofician sacrificios para otros; dan dones y aceptan dones. Así permanecen establecidos en los seis deberes propios de su orden.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines the classical sixfold Brahminical duties (ṣaṭkarma): study, teaching, performing sacrifice, officiating sacrifice, giving, and accepting gifts—presented as a model of varṇa-based dharma upheld within a well-ordered kingdom.
Bhishma, instructing on dharma and governance in the Śānti Parva, describes the proper conduct of Brahmins in his kingdom, emphasizing that they remain devoted to their prescribed religious and ethical occupations.