Shloka 36
कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः
Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma
काम्बोजा बाह्लिका: शूरास्तथा5<5भीरा नरोत्तम | न तदा ब्राह्मण: कश्रनित् स्वधर्ममुपजीवति
Vaiśampāyana uvāca | Kāmbojā bāhlikāḥ śūrās tathābhīrā narottama | na tadā brāhmaṇaḥ kaścid svadharmam upajīvati ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô le meilleur des hommes, en ce temps-là les Kāmbojas et les Bāhlīkas, ainsi que les vaillants Ābhīras, détiendront le pouvoir. Alors, aucun brāhmane ne pourra subsister selon son propre dharma.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a symptom of dharmic decline: when social and political conditions become disordered, even those meant to live by svadharma (here, Brāhmaṇas) cannot sustain themselves through rightful means. It highlights the ethical idea that stable kingship and social support are necessary for dharma to be practicable, not merely ideal.
Within a prophetic or diagnostic description of troubled times, the speaker (Vaiśampāyana) lists certain peoples as future holders of power and concludes that, in such an age, Brāhmaṇas will no longer be able to maintain their livelihood according to their prescribed dharma.