Shloka 10
शूद्रो5हं नाधिकारो मे चातुराश्रम्यसेवने । इति विज्ञानमपरे नात्मन्युपदधत्युत
śūdro ’haṃ nādhikāro me cāturāśramya-sevane | iti vijñānam apare nātmany upadadhaty uta ||
Bhishma berkata: “Sebagian orang menaruh kebodohan ini dalam hati: ‘Aku seorang Śūdra; maka aku tidak berhak menjalankan empat āśrama seperti brahmacarya.’ Namun para dvija yang sungguh saleh tidak menampung pembatasan diri yang menipu semacam itu dalam batin mereka.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse critiques a defeatist or self-excluding belief—“I have no right to spiritual discipline”—and suggests that the virtuous do not take refuge in such inner excuses. Ethically, it points toward sincerity and responsibility in pursuing dharma rather than hiding behind identity-based pretexts.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma, he comments on how some people interpret social status as barring them from āśrama-based practices, while praising the truly good (here described as virtuous dvijas) for not entertaining such inner ‘chala’—a deceptive rationalization.