Shloka 24
आपद्धर्मे वैश्यवृत्तिः, विक्रय-निषेधाः, तथा ब्रह्म-क्षत्र-सम्बन्धः
Emergency Livelihood, Prohibited Trade, and Brahman–Kshatra Regulation
तस्माद् ब्रह्मणि शाम्यन्ति क्षत्रियाणां युधिष्ठिर । समुदीर्णान्यजेयानि तेजांसि च बलानि च
tasmād brahmaṇi śāmyanti kṣatriyāṇāṃ yudhiṣṭhira | samudīrṇāny ajeyāni tejāṃsi ca balāni ca ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Por isso, ó Yudhiṣṭhira, as energias flamejantes e as grandes forças dos kṣatriyas—embora despertas ao auge e parecendo inconquistáveis—se apaziguam quando se defrontam com o brahman, a autoridade espiritual encarnada pelo brāhmaṇa.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Martial might (tejas and bala) is not the highest authority; it must yield to brahman—spiritual discipline, learning, and dharmic restraint—so that power is governed rather than unchecked.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and governance, Bhīṣma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira, explaining that even the fiercest kṣatriya power becomes subdued when it confronts the superior moral-spiritual force associated with brahman/brāhmaṇas.