Shloka 19
Aśvatthāmā’s Buddhi-Doctrine and Nocturnal Incursion Resolve (अश्वत्थाम्नः बुद्धिविचारः सौप्तिकसंकल्पश्च)
ब्राह्मणे वेदमग्रयं तु क्षत्रिये तेज उत्तमम् दाक्ष्यं वैश्ये च शूद्रे च सर्ववर्णानुकूलताम्
brāhmaṇe vedam agryaṁ tu kṣatriye teja uttamam | dākṣyaṁ vaiśye ca śūdre ca sarvavarṇānukūlatām ||
サンジャヤは言った。「ブラーフマナには至上の宝としてヴェーダを、クシャトリヤには最高の威光と武勇を、ヴァイシャには実務の才と交易の巧みを、そしてシュードラには諸ヴァルナに調和し仕える気質を、それぞれ据え置かれた。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse articulates a varṇa-based model of dharma: each social order is characterized by a distinctive excellence—Vedic knowledge for brāhmaṇas, valorous splendor for kṣatriyas, practical skill for vaiśyas, and supportive compatibility/service for śūdras—presented as complementary functions that uphold societal stability.
Sañjaya is describing principles of social and ethical order (varṇa-dharma) within the Sauptika Parva’s aftermath of nocturnal violence, contrasting an ideal distribution of virtues with the disorder and moral rupture produced by the war’s final atrocities.