Shloka 19
आपद्धर्मे वैश्यवृत्तिः, विक्रय-निषेधाः, तथा ब्रह्म-क्षत्र-सम्बन्धः
Emergency Livelihood, Prohibited Trade, and Brahman–Kshatra Regulation
युधिछिर उवाच अथ चेत् सर्वतः क्षत्रं प्रदुष्येद् ब्राह्मणं प्रति । कस्तस्य ब्राह्मणस्त्राता को धर्म: कि परायणम्
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | atha cet sarvataḥ kṣatraṁ praduṣyed brāhmaṇaṁ prati | kas tasya brāhmaṇas trātā ko dharmaḥ kiṁ parāyaṇam ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Wahai Datuk Agung, jika dari segala penjuru golongan kṣatriya menjadi rosak dan memusuhi brāhmaṇa, siapakah pelindung bagi brāhmaṇa itu? Apakah dharma (kewajipan) yang masih tinggal baginya, dan apakah tempat berlindung yang tertinggi harus dipegangnya?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-crisis: when the very institution meant to protect society (kṣatra/royal power) becomes unjust toward the custodians of learning and ritual (brāhmaṇas), one must ask where protection and moral authority can be found, and what ‘ultimate refuge’ remains. It introduces the Shānti Parva’s inquiry into dharma beyond mere force—grounding legitimacy in righteousness rather than power.
In the Shānti Parva dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira questions Bhīṣma about governance and dharma after the war. Here he poses a hypothetical but urgent scenario: if kṣatriyas everywhere persecute brāhmaṇas, who can protect them, what should they do, and what is their highest recourse—setting up Bhīṣma’s subsequent guidance on duty and refuge amid societal breakdown.