Shloka 29
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
ब्राह्मणे कीदृशो धर्म: क्षत्रिये कीदृशो5भवत् | वैश्ये किलक्षणो धर्म: शूद्रे किलक्षणो भवेत्
brāhmaṇe kīdṛśo dharmaḥ kṣatriye kīdṛśo 'bhavat | vaiśye ki-lakṣaṇo dharmaḥ śūdre ki-lakṣaṇo bhavet ||
Apakah hakikat dharma bagi seorang Brāhmaṇa? Bagaimana bagi seorang Kṣatriya? Dengan tanda apa dharma yang tepat bagi seorang Vaiśya dikenali, dan dengan tanda apa dharma seorang Śūdra harus dipahami?
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a systematic inquiry into varṇadharma—how dharma is defined differently for Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya, and Śūdra—by asking for the distinguishing characteristics (lakṣaṇas) of each.
Śrī Maheśvara speaks in a didactic context, posing questions that set up a subsequent explanation of the duties and ethical norms appropriate to the four social orders.