Shloka 8
Rājapurohita-lakṣaṇa and Purūravas–Vāyu Saṃvāda
Varṇa, Sovereignty, and Abhaya-dāna
वैश्यस्तु धनधान्येन त्रीन् वर्णान् विधृयादिमान् । शूद्रो होतान् परिचरेदिति ब्रह्मानुशासनम्,वैश्य धन-धान्यके द्वारा इन तीनों वर्णोका पोषण करे और शाूद्र शेष तीनों वर्णोंकी सेवामें संलग्न रहे, यह ब्रह्माजीका आदेश है
vaiśyastu dhanadhānyena trīn varṇān vidhṛyād imān | śūdro hotān paricared iti brahmānuśāsanam ||
Purūravas dit : «Par la richesse et le grain, le Vaiśya doit soutenir ces trois ordres ; et le Śūdra doit assister et servir les trois autres : telle est l’ordonnance établie par Brahmā.»
पुरूरवा उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a model of social dharma based on interdependence: the Vaiśya’s obligation is to sustain society materially through wealth and grain, while the Śūdra’s obligation is to serve and assist the other orders. Both are framed as duties that preserve communal stability and the moral–ritual order.
In Śānti Parva’s discourse on dharma and social organization, Purūravas states a normative rule attributed to Brahmā, describing the expected roles of the Vaiśya and Śūdra in maintaining the functioning of the three higher varṇas and, by extension, society.