Shloka 7
अर्जुनस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति क्षात्रधर्मोपदेशः | Arjuna’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira on Kṣatra-Dharma
न त्यागो न पुनर्यज्ञो न तपो मनुजेश्वर । क्षत्रियस्यथ विधीयन्ते न परस्वोपजीवनम्,“नरेश्वर! क्षत्रियके लिये त्याग, यज्ञ, तप और दूसरेके धनसे जीवन-निर्वाहका विधान नहीं है
na tyāgo na punaryajño na tapo manujeśvara | kṣatriyasyātha vidhīyante na parasvopajīvanam ||
വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു— ഹേ മനുഷ്യേശ്വരാ, ക്ഷത്രിയന് ത്യാഗം, യജ്ഞം, തപസ്സ് എന്നിവയുടെ വിധി ഇല്ല; മറ്റുള്ളവരുടെ ധനത്തെ ആശ്രയിച്ച് ഉപജീവിക്കലും അവനു നിശ്ചയിച്ചിട്ടില്ല.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes varṇa-appropriate duty: a kṣatriya’s prescribed path is not primarily renunciation, ritualism, or asceticism, nor dependence on others’ wealth, but sustaining himself through his own rightful means while upholding rāja-dharma.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma after the war, Vaiśampāyana reports a teaching addressed to a king, clarifying what is and is not enjoined for a kṣatriya as part of guidance on proper conduct and livelihood.