Shloka 21
Śakra–Śambara Saṃvāda: Brāhmaṇa-sevā, Anasūyā, and Vāg-bala (शक्रशम्बरसंवादः)
शका यवनकाम्बोजास्तास्ता: क्षत्रियजातय: । वृषलत्वं परिगता ब्राह्मणानामदर्शनात्
śakā yavanakāmbojās tāstāḥ kṣatriyajātayaḥ | vṛṣalatvaṃ parigatā brāhmaṇānām adarśanāt ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Os Śakas, Yavanas, Kāmbojas e outros povos semelhantes eram originalmente de estirpe kṣatriya. Mas, tendo perdido a orientação e a presença sustentadora dos Brāhmaṇas, caíram à condição de vṛṣalas—tidos por degradados, fora da ordem ortodoxa.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a normative dharma view that social standing is sustained by adherence to Vedic-orthodox guidance; when communities lose the regulating influence of Brāhmaṇas (teaching, rites, and discipline), they are portrayed as slipping from kṣatriya status into vṛṣala standing.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma, he cites frontier or foreign-designated groups (Śakas, Yavanas, Kāmbojas) as examples: though said to have been kṣatriyas originally, they are described as later regarded as vṛṣalas because they lacked continued association with Brāhmaṇas.