Shloka 32
चतुष्पात् सकलो धर्मों ब्राह्मणस्य विधीयते । पादावकृष्टो राजन्ये तथा धर्मो विधीयते
catuṣpāt sakalo dharmo brāhmaṇasya vidhīyate | pādāvakṛṣṭo rājanye tathā dharmo vidhīyate ||
Vyāsa berkata: “Bagi seorang Brāhmaṇa, dharma ditetapkan dalam bentuknya yang sempurna, berkaki empat sepenuhnya. Bagi seorang Kṣatriya pula, dharma juga ditetapkan, namun dengan satu ‘kaki’ berkurang—tidak sesempurna dharma Brāhmaṇa.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a graded model of varṇa-based duties: the Brāhmaṇa is enjoined to uphold dharma in its full, ‘four-part’ completeness, while the Kṣatriya’s dharma is described as comparatively reduced by one part—suggesting differing expectations and emphases in ethical-religious obligations across social roles.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse on governance and righteousness after the war, Vyāsa states a normative principle about how dharma is prescribed for different varṇas, contrasting the completeness of Brāhmaṇa-dharma with the comparatively diminished form assigned to the royal/warrior class.