Shloka 15
Gārhasthya-Śreṣṭhatā and Kṣatriya-Daṇḍadhāraṇa
Householder Primacy and the Royal Duty of Punishment
भूमिरेतौ निगिरति सर्पे बिलशयानिव । राजानं चाविरोद्धारं ब्राह्मणं चाप्रवासिनम्
bhūmir etau nigirati sarpe bilaśayān iva | rājānaṃ cāviroddhāraṃ brāhmaṇaṃ cāpravāsinam ||
Sebagaimana ular menelan makhluk yang tinggal di liang, demikian pula bumi ‘menelan’ dua orang ini: seorang raja yang tidak menentang kejahatan, dan seorang brāhmaṇa yang tidak pergi menunaikan laku dan disiplin yang semestinya.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Two forms of dereliction are condemned: a king who fails to restrain wrongdoing and protect order, and a brāhmaṇa who remains inactive instead of pursuing the disciplined obligations of his role. Both are said to be ‘swallowed by the earth,’ i.e., brought to ruin and obscurity by the consequences of neglected dharma.
Vyāsa delivers a proverbial warning within the Shānti Parva’s instruction on dharma: using the image of a serpent swallowing burrow-dwelling creatures, he states that the earth similarly consumes two negligent figures—an unresisting king and a brāhmaṇa who does not ‘go forth’—to stress accountability in governance and spiritual life.