Shloka 28
Āśrama-dharma: Duties of the Four Life-Stages (आश्रमधर्मः)
प्रजापतिर्हि वर्णानां दासं शूद्रमकल्पयत् । तस्माच्छुद्रस्य वर्णानां परिचर्या विधीयते
prajāpatir hi varṇānāṃ dāsaṃ śūdram akalpayat | tasmāc chūdrasya varṇānāṃ paricaryā vidhīyate ||
Bhīṣma dit : « Car Prajāpati façonna le Śūdra comme serviteur des (autres) ordres sociaux. Ainsi, pour le Śūdra, le service et l’assistance envers les autres varṇa sont établis comme devoir prescrit. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a normative rule of varṇa-dharma: the Śūdra’s prescribed role is paricaryā—service/attendance—toward the other varṇas, presented as an ordinance traced to Prajāpati.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and social duties; here he articulates a traditional account of how the Śūdra’s occupational duty is defined within the varṇa framework.