Shloka 10
धर्मनिन्दा–धर्मोपासनाफलम् तथा साध्वाचारलक्षणम्
Fruits of Disparaging vs. Observing Dharma; Marks of Good Conduct
वैश्यकर्म च यो विप्रो लोभमोहव्यपाश्रय: । ब्राह्माण्यं दुर्लभं प्राप्प करोत्यल्पमति: सदा
vaiśyakarma ca yo vipro lobhamohavyapāśrayaḥ | brāhmaṇyaṁ durlabhaṁ prāpya karoty alpamatiḥ sadā ||
Mahādeva bersabda: “Seorang brāhmaṇa yang, setelah memperoleh brāhmaṇahood yang langka, bersandar pada loba dan moha—ketamakan dan delusi—lalu karena pikiran yang sempit terus-menerus mengambil pekerjaan yang layak bagi vaiśya, jatuh ke kelahiran vaiśya. Demikian pula, bila seorang vaiśya mengambil laku dan pekerjaan seorang śūdra, ia mencapai keadaan śūdra. Seorang brāhmaṇa yang melakukan perbuatan seperti śūdra dan menyimpang dari dharmanya sendiri pun mencapai keadaan śūdra.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that abandoning one’s own dharma out of greed and delusion leads to moral and spiritual decline, expressed here as a fall into a lower social condition/birth. It emphasizes integrity of conduct (ācāra) and self-restraint as safeguards of one’s station and responsibilities.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Mahādeva is speaking in a didactic context, laying down norms of conduct and consequences. Here he states that when members of a varṇa adopt the work and behavior of another varṇa due to base motives, they incur degradation, framed as rebirth into that lower status.