Shloka 14
द्वावेतौ ग्रसते भूमि: सर्पों बिलशयानिव । राजानं चाविरोद्धारं ब्राह्मणं चाप्रवासिनम्,जैसे सर्प बिलमें रहनेवाले चूहों आदिको निगल जाता है, उसी प्रकार यह भूमि विरोध न करनेवाले राजा तथा परदेशमें न विचरनेवाले ब्राह्मण (संन्यासी)-को ग्रस लेती है
dvāv etau grasate bhūmiḥ sarpōn bilaśayān iva | rājānaṃ cāvirōddhāraṃ brāhmaṇaṃ cāpravāsinam ||
ಭೂಮಿ ಈ ಇಬ್ಬರನ್ನೂ ನುಂಗಿಬಿಡುತ್ತದೆ—ಬಿಲಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಾಸಿಸುವ ಜೀವಿಗಳನ್ನು ಸರ್ಪ ನುಂಗುವಂತೆ: ಪ್ರತಿರೋಧಿಸಿ ಧರ್ಮ-ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯನ್ನು ಕಾಪಾಡದ ರಾಜನನ್ನೂ, ಗೃಹಾಸಕ್ತನಾಗಿ ಪ್ರವ್ರಜ್ಯೆ ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳದ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನನ್ನೂ।
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Neglect of svadharma leads to downfall: a king must actively uphold order and restrain wrongdoing, while a brāhmaṇa is expected to pursue disciplined spiritual life (often idealized as going forth/wandering rather than remaining complacently settled).
In the Sabha Parva context, Duryodhana is speaking in a political-moral register, using a proverb-like image to argue that passivity in rulership and complacency in spiritual vocation are self-destructive, as if the very earth consumes such persons.