Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 15
Kārtavīrya–Samudra Saṃvāda and the Jāmadagnya Precedent (आश्वमेधिक पर्व, अध्याय २९)
तेषां स्वविहितं कर्म तद्धयान्नानुतिष्ठताम् । प्रजा वृषलतां प्राप्ता ब्राह्मणानामदर्शनात्
teṣāṁ svavihitaṁ karma taddhayān nānutiṣṭhatām | prajā vṛṣalatāṁ prāptā brāhmaṇānām adarśanāt ||
भय के कारण वे अपने लिए विहित क्षत्रियोचित कर्म का भी पालन न कर सके। बहुत काल तक ब्राह्मणों का दर्शन और मार्गदर्शन न मिलने से प्रजा धीरे-धीरे वृषल-भाव को प्राप्त हो गई।
समुद्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Fear-driven abandonment of one’s prescribed duties leads to ethical and social deterioration; sustained guidance by learned Brāhmaṇas is presented as crucial for preserving dharma and right conduct.
Samudra (the Ocean) explains that certain people, intimidated by fear, stopped performing their proper duties; over time, lacking contact with Brāhmaṇas, they lost their customary discipline and declined into the status described as vṛṣalas.