Shloka 3
Adhyāya 90 — Protection of Livelihoods, Brahmanical Subsistence Norms, and Royal Oversight (राष्ट्रवृत्ति-राष्ट्रगुप्ति-उपदेशः)
विप्रश्नेत् त्यागमातिष्ठेदात्मार्थ वृत्तिकर्शित: । परिकल्प्यास्य वृत्ति: स्थात् सदारस्य नराधिप
bhīṣma uvāca | vipraḥ śneta tyāgam ātiṣṭhed ātmārtha-vṛtti-karśitaḥ | parikalpyāsya vṛttiḥ sthāt sadāraś ca narādhipa, rājan |
ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ನರಾಧಿಪನೇ, ಒಬ್ಬ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನು ತನ್ನ ಜೀವನೋಪಾಯದ ಅಭಾವದಿಂದ ಕುಗ್ಗಿ ರಾಜ್ಯವನ್ನು ತೊರೆದು ಬೇರೆಡೆಗೆ ಹೋಗಲು ಸಿದ್ಧನಾದರೆ, ರಾಜನು ಅವನಿಗೂ ಅವನ ಕುಟುಂಬಕ್ಕೂ ಜೀವನೋಪಾಯದ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆ ಮಾಡಬೇಕು. ಹೀಗೆ ವಿದ್ಯೆಯನ್ನೂ ವಿದ್ಯಾವಂತರನ್ನೂ ರಕ್ಷಿಸಿ ರಾಜನು ಧರ್ಮವನ್ನು ಸ್ಥಾಪಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king must ensure that a brahmin who is weakened by lack of livelihood is provided for—along with his household—so that he need not abandon the kingdom; this is presented as a concrete obligation of rajadharma.
In Bhishma’s instruction to the king during the Shanti Parva, he describes a scenario where a brahmin, unable to sustain himself, prepares to leave the realm; Bhishma states that the ruler should intervene by arranging stable support for the brahmin and his family.