Shloka 8
अध्याय २९ — वासुदेव–संजय संवादः
Karma, Varṇa-Dharma, and the Ethics of Governance
स्वाध्यायिनो ब्राह्मणा भिक्षवश्न तपस्विनो ये च नित्या वनेषु । अभिवाद्या वै मद्धचनेन वृद्धा- स्तथेतरेषां कुशलं वदेथा:
svādhyāyino brāhmaṇā bhikṣavaś ca tapassvino ye ca nityā vaneṣu | abhivādyā vai madvacanena vṛddhās tathetareṣāṁ kuśalaṁ vadethāḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Sampaikan salam sembahku, atas namaku, kepada para Brāhmaṇa yang tekun dalam swādhyāya Veda, kepada para pengemis suci, dan kepada para pertapa yang sentiasa tinggal di rimba. Tundukkan hormat kepada para tua-tua sebagaimana wajar, dan kepada yang lain semuanya juga, tanyakan khabar kesejahteraan mereka.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid political crisis, dharma is upheld through humility and social responsibility: honoring Vedic learners, renunciants, and elders, and maintaining bonds of care by asking after others’ welfare.
Yudhiṣṭhira instructs a messenger (implicitly) to convey his salutations to religious and senior members of society—Brāhmaṇas devoted to study, mendicants, forest ascetics, and elders—and to inquire about the well-being of everyone else.