Shloka 10
धर्मनिन्दा–धर्मोपासनाफलम् तथा साध्वाचारलक्षणम्
Fruits of Disparaging vs. Observing Dharma; Marks of Good Conduct
वैश्यकर्म च यो विप्रो लोभमोहव्यपाश्रय: । ब्राह्माण्यं दुर्लभं प्राप्प करोत्यल्पमति: सदा
vaiśyakarma ca yo vipro lobhamohavyapāśrayaḥ | brāhmaṇyaṁ durlabhaṁ prāpya karoty alpamatiḥ sadā ||
Mahādeva dit : «Un brāhmaṇa qui, après avoir obtenu la rare condition de brāhmaṇa, devient tributaire de l’avidité et de l’illusion et—par étroitesse d’esprit constante—se met à accomplir le travail propre au vaiśya, tombe dans une naissance de vaiśya. De même, si un vaiśya adopte la conduite et l’ouvrage d’un śūdra, il atteint la condition de śūdra. Un brāhmaṇa qui accomplit des actes de śūdra et s’écarte ainsi de son propre dharma, parvient à la condition de śūdra.»
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that abandoning one’s own dharma out of greed and delusion leads to moral and spiritual decline, expressed here as a fall into a lower social condition/birth. It emphasizes integrity of conduct (ācāra) and self-restraint as safeguards of one’s station and responsibilities.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Mahādeva is speaking in a didactic context, laying down norms of conduct and consequences. Here he states that when members of a varṇa adopt the work and behavior of another varṇa due to base motives, they incur degradation, framed as rebirth into that lower status.