Shloka 93
Daṇḍanīti and the King as the Cause of Yuga-Order (दण्डनीतिः राजधर्मश्च युगकारणत्वम्)
शूद्रा भैक्षेण जीवन्ति ब्राह्मणा: परिचर्यया । योगक्षेमस्य नाशक्ष वर्तते वर्णसंकर:,शूद्र भिक्षा माँगकर जीवन निर्वाह करते हैं और ब्राह्मण सेवा वृत्तिसे। प्रजाके योगक्षेमका नाश हो जाता है और सब ओर वर्णसंकरता फैल जाती है
śūdrā bhaikṣeṇa jīvanti brāhmaṇāḥ paricaryayā | yogakṣemasya nāśaś ca vartate varṇasaṅkaraḥ ||
Bhishma bersabda: “Apabila kaum Śūdra terpaksa hidup dengan meminta-minta dan kaum Brāhmaṇa pula hidup dengan kerja khidmat yang hina, maka yoga-kṣema—kesejahteraan dan keselamatan rakyat—musnah; dan tertib masyarakat runtuh menjadi percampuran varna (varṇa-saṅkara) serta kekacauan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A society prospers when each group can sustain itself through its proper duties; when economic and moral roles invert—begging becomes the lot of the laboring class and servile dependence the lot of the learned—public welfare (yoga-kṣema) collapses and social confusion (varṇasaṅkara) spreads.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and governance. Here he warns that misrule and disorder distort livelihoods and duties, leading to the loss of the people’s security and prosperity and to widespread social breakdown.