Shloka 3236
अन्नदान-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Gift of Food) | Annadāna-Praśaṃsā
वैश्यो राजन्यमित्येव शूद्रो वैश्यमिति श्रुति: । राजन! अब मैं तुम्हें सनातन कालका धार्मिक व्यवहार कैसा है
vaiśyo rājanyam ityeva śūdro vaiśyam iti śrutiḥ | rājann, adhunāhaṃ tvāṃ sanātana-kālasya dhārmika-vyavahāraṃ yathāvad vakṣyāmi | śrutaṃ hi naḥ pūrva-kāle kṣatriyā brāhmaṇān, vaiśyāḥ kṣatriyān, śūdrā vaiśyān sevamānā āsan |
Bhishma dit : «La tradition (Śruti) proclame : “Le vaiśya servait le kṣatriya, et le śūdra servait le vaiśya.” Ô roi, je vais maintenant t’exposer quelle était la conduite sociale juste selon le dharma dans l’ordre ancien, honoré depuis des temps immémoriaux. Nous avons entendu que jadis les kṣatriya servaient les brāhmaṇa, les vaiśya servaient les kṣatriya, et les śūdra servaient les vaiśya.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma frames dharma as a time-honored social ethic grounded in received tradition (śruti), describing an idealized hierarchy of mutual obligations expressed through service: Kṣatriyas supporting Brāhmaṇas, Vaiśyas supporting Kṣatriyas, and Śūdras supporting Vaiśyas.
In the Anuśāsana Parva dialogue, Bhīṣma continues instructing King Yudhiṣṭhira on righteous conduct. Here he introduces an account of ancient customary practice regarding how the four varṇas related through service, presenting it as something ‘heard’ from tradition.