Shloka 13
Brāhmaṇa-bheda-nirṇaya and Rājā’s Regulatory Duties (ब्राह्मणभेदनिर्णयः)
अवृत्त्या यो भवेत् स्तेनो वेदवित् स्स्नातकस्तथा । राजन स राज्ञा भर्तव्य इति वेदविदो विदु:
avṛttyā yo bhavet steno vedavit snātakas tathā | rājan sa rājñā bhartavya iti vedavido viduḥ ||
ພີສະມະກ່າວວ່າ: «ໂອ ພະຣາຊາ, ຖ້າເນື່ອງຈາກຂາດຊີວິດທຳມາຫາກິນ ຜູ້ຮູ້ເວດ—ແມ່ນແຕ່ພຣາຫມັນສນາຕະກະ (snātaka) ຜູ້ສຳເລັດພິທີການສຶກສາ—ຕົກໄປສູ່ການລັກຂໂມຍ ພະຣາຊາຄວນອຸປະຖຳລ້ຽງດູເຂົາ. ນີ້ແມ່ນຄຳຕັດສິນທີ່ຜູ້ຮູ້ເວດທັງຫຼາຍຮັບຮອງ».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Poverty-driven wrongdoing by a Veda-learned person is treated as a failure of social support; the king’s dharma is to prevent such moral collapse by providing maintenance, emphasizing welfare as a pillar of rajadharma.
In the Shanti Parva discourse on kingship and dharma, Bhishma instructs the king that when a Veda-knower or snātaka resorts to theft due to lack of livelihood, the proper royal response is not merely punishment but provision—ensuring sustenance and restoring dharmic order.