Shloka 47
कर्णेन व्यूहविधानम् — Karṇa’s Battle Formation and the Pāṇḍava Counter-Plan
Adhyāya 31
कृषिश्च पाशुपाल्यं च विशां दान॑ च धर्मत: । ब्रद्मक्षत्रविशां शूद्रा विहिता: परिचारका:,कृषि, पशुपालन और धर्मानुसार दान देना वैश्योंका कर्म है तथा शूद्रलोग ब्राह्मण, क्षत्रिय और वैश्योंकी सेवाके काममें नियुक्त किये गये हैं
kṛṣiś ca pāśupālyaṃ ca viśāṃ dānaṃ ca dharmataḥ | brāhma-kṣatra-viśāṃ śūdrā vihitāḥ paricārakāḥ ||
Śalya said: “For the Vaiśyas, agriculture and the tending of cattle, along with giving in charity according to dharma, are the prescribed duties. The Śūdras are appointed to serve the Brāhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas, and Vaiśyas.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a traditional varṇa-based allocation of duties: Vaiśyas are enjoined to sustain society through farming, cattle-rearing, and righteous charity, while Śūdras are prescribed service to the other three varṇas—framing social roles as obligations to be performed in accordance with dharma.
In Karṇa Parva, Śalya is speaking amid the tense wartime setting, offering pointed instruction and critique. Here he invokes varṇa-dharma—listing prescribed occupations and service roles—to argue about proper conduct and social duty, using ethical norms as a rhetorical tool within the larger conflict.