Shloka 4
राजधर्मः—प्रमादवर्जनं, दण्डनीतिः, दुर्बलरक्षणम्
Royal Dharma: Vigilance, Just Punishment, Protection of the Vulnerable
कर्म शूद्रे कृषिवैंश्ये दण्डनीतिश्न राजनि । ब्रह्मचर्य तपो मन्त्रा: सत्यं चापि द्विजातिषु
karma śūdre kṛṣi-vaiśye daṇḍanītiś ca rājani | brahmacaryaṁ tapo mantrāḥ satyaṁ cāpi dvijātiṣu ||
ਸ਼ੂਦਰ ਲਈ ਕਰਮ ਅਤੇ ਸੇਵਾ, ਵੈਸ਼ ਲਈ ਖੇਤੀ ਆਦਿ ਜੀਵਿਕਾ, ਰਾਜਾ (ਖ਼ਤਰੀ) ਲਈ ਦੰਡਨੀਤੀ ਸਮੇਤ ਰਾਜ-ਸ਼ਾਸਨ, ਅਤੇ ਦਵਿਜਾਂ ਲਈ ਬ੍ਰਹਮਚਰਯ, ਤਪੱਸਿਆ, ਵੇਦ-ਮੰਤਰ ਅਤੇ ਸਤ੍ਯ—ਇਹੀ ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨ ਧਰਮ ਹਨ।
उतथ्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse outlines varṇa-based dharma: each social order is sustained by its characteristic duties—service/work for Śūdra, agriculture for Vaiśya, lawful governance and punishment for the king/Kṣatriya, and for the twice-born the primacy of disciplined conduct, austerity, Vedic study/recitation, and truthfulness.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and social stability, the sage Utathya speaks as a teacher, summarizing how different roles in society are meant to function ethically so that order (dharma) is maintained after the devastation of war.