Shloka 16
Vasiṣṭha–Karāla-Janaka Saṃvāda: Aśuddha-Sevana, Guṇa-Dr̥ṣṭi, and Sāṃkhya–Yoga Ekārthatā
Mahābhārata 12.293
जो राजा धर्मपूर्वक प्रजाकी रक्षा करता है
yo rājā dharmapūrvakaṁ prajāyāḥ rakṣāṁ karoti, sa tasya dharmācaraṇasyaiva kāraṇāl loke pūjito bhavati. evaṁ yaḥ brāhmaṇo dharmapūrvakaṁ svādhyāyaṁ karoti, yaś ca vaiśyo dharmānusāreṇa dhanopārjane tatparo bhavati, yaś ca śūdro jitendriyabhāvena sthitvā sarvadā dvijātīnāṁ sevāṁ karoti, te sarve sva-sva-dharmācaraṇakāraṇāl loke sammānitā bhavanti. narendra, viparītam ācaran sarve svadharmād bhraśyanti. prāṇasaṁtāpanirdiṣṭāḥ kākiṇyo ’pi mahāphalāḥ; nyāyenopārjitā dattāḥ, kim utānyāḥ sahasraśaḥ.
パラーシャラは言った。「ダルマに則って臣民を守護する王は、その正しき行いゆえに世に敬われる。同じく、ダルマに従って聖なる学習（スヴァーディヤーヤ svādhyāya）に励むブラーフマナ、ダルマに適って財を求めることに勤しむヴァイシャ、そして諸根を制し、常に二度生まれ（ドヴィジャ dvija）に仕えるシュードラも、それぞれ自らの務めを忠実に果たすがゆえに世間の尊敬を受ける。おお人の主よ、これに背けば、人はみな自らのダルマより堕ちる。たとえ命を削るほどの苦労の末に、しかも正当に得たわずかなカーキニー（kākiṇī）の銭であっても、施しとして与えれば大いなる果を結ぶ。まして他の品々を幾千と施すなら、その果報は言うまでもない。」
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Social honor and spiritual merit arise from faithfully performing one’s own dharma: the king by protection, the brāhmaṇa by sacred study, the vaiśya by lawful wealth-making, and the śūdra by disciplined service. Even a tiny gift becomes highly meritorious when earned justly and given rightly.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Parāśara addresses a king (narendra), outlining how each social role is validated by dharmic action and warning that contrary behavior causes a fall from svadharma; he then emphasizes the superior fruit of charity made from honestly earned resources, even if the amount is small.