Shloka 10
Kṣātra-dharma as the Public Foundation of Dharma (क्षात्रधर्म-प्रशंसा)
लोके चेदं सर्वलोकस्य न स्या- च्चातुर्वर्ण्य वेदवादाश्व न स्यु: । सर्वाक्षैज्या: सर्वलोकक्रिया श्र सद्यः सर्वे चाश्रमस्था न वै स्यु:
loke cedaṁ sarvalokasya na syāc cāturvarṇyaṁ vedavādāś ca na syuḥ | sarvākṣaijyāḥ sarvalokakriyāś ca sadyaḥ sarve cāśramasthā na vai syuḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Jika tatanan ini tidak dipelihara di dunia, kesejahteraan seluruh manusia tidak akan berkekalan. Empat varṇa dan kewibawaan ajaran Veda tidak akan tegak. Segala korban suci dan pekerjaan adat yang menggerakkan masyarakat akan terhenti, dan mereka yang berpegang pada disiplin āśrama akan segera jatuh ke dalam kebinasaan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that dharma is not merely personal morality but a divinely sustained structure that supports society: varṇa-duties, Vedic authority, sacrifice, and āśrama disciplines together preserve collective welfare; if that ordering collapses, social and spiritual life deteriorate rapidly.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on kingship and dharma after the war. Here he emphasizes that the world’s stability depends on proper regulation and maintenance of dharmic institutions—framed as being upheld through the divine governance associated with Viṣṇu.