Shloka 196
आचारप्रशंसा
Praise of Ācāra as the Basis of Longevity, Fame, and Prosperity
सर्वास्तान् धार्मिको राजा शूद्रकर्माणि कारयेत् | जो द्विज न तो प्रातःकालकी संध्या करते हैं और न सायंकालकी ही, उन सबसे धार्मिक राजा शूद्रोचित कर्म करावे
sarvāṁs tān dhārmiko rājā śūdrakarmāṇi kārayet | ye dvijā na prātaḥkālasandhyāṁ kurvanti na sāyaṁkālasandhyām api, tān sarvān dhārmiko rājā śūdrocityaṁ karma kārayet ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Seorang raja yang saleh hendaknya mewajibkan semua orang semacam itu melakukan tugas yang patut bagi seorang śūdra. Mereka yang dua kali lahir namun tidak melaksanakan sandhyā pagi maupun sandhyā petang, hendaknya oleh penguasa yang menjunjung dharma diarahkan untuk mengerjakan pekerjaan yang sesuai bagi śūdra.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that a ruler who upholds dharma should enforce responsibility: a dvija who abandons obligatory daily rites like morning and evening Sandhyā forfeits the privileges of dvija-conduct and may be assigned śūdra-appropriate work, emphasizing that status is tied to disciplined practice.
In Bhishma’s instruction on governance and dharma, he advises the king on how to respond to ritual negligence among the twice-born: the king should correct social and religious disorder by compelling such offenders to perform lower-status duties.