Shloka 20
Kośa, Bala, and Maryādā: Treasury, Capacity, and Enforceable Limits (कोश-बल-मर्यादा)
क्षत्रियो वृत्तिसंरोधे कस्य नादातुमर्हति । अन्यत्र तापसस्वाच्च ब्राह्मणस्वाच्च भारत
kṣatriyo vṛttisaṃrodhe kasya nādātum arhati | anyatra tāpasasvāc ca brāhmaṇasvāc ca bhārata bharatanandana ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Quand les moyens d’existence d’un kṣatriya sont coupés, de qui ne lui est-il pas permis de prendre (des richesses) ? De n’importe qui—sauf d’un ascète et d’un brāhmaṇa, ô Bhārata, joie des Bharata. Dans une telle détresse, il peut prendre aux autres, mais il ne doit pas porter atteinte aux biens protégés de ceux qui se vouent à l’austérité et à la vie védique.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
In a survival crisis (āpaddharma), a kṣatriya may procure resources even by taking wealth, but dharma sets firm limits: the property of ascetics and brāhmaṇas is specially protected and must not be seized.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on rājadharma and exceptional rules for times of distress. Here he clarifies what a kṣatriya may do when deprived of livelihood, while exempting ascetics and brāhmaṇas from such exactions.