Shloka 14
द्वावेतौ ग्रसते भूमि: सर्पों बिलशयानिव । राजानं चाविरोद्धारं ब्राह्मणं चाप्रवासिनम्
dvāv etau grasate bhūmiḥ sarpōn bilaśayān iva | rājānaṃ cāvirōddhāraṃ brāhmaṇaṃ cāpravāsinam ||
यह पृथ्वी दो को निगल जाती है—जैसे सर्प बिलों में रहनेवाले जीवों को निगल जाता है: एक वह राजा जो विरोध करके धर्म-व्यवस्था की रक्षा नहीं करता, और दूसरा वह ब्राह्मण जो गृह में ही आसक्त रहकर प्रव्रज्या नहीं करता।
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Neglect of svadharma leads to downfall: a king must actively uphold order and restrain wrongdoing, while a brāhmaṇa is expected to pursue disciplined spiritual life (often idealized as going forth/wandering rather than remaining complacently settled).
In the Sabha Parva context, Duryodhana is speaking in a political-moral register, using a proverb-like image to argue that passivity in rulership and complacency in spiritual vocation are self-destructive, as if the very earth consumes such persons.