Shloka 37
आपद्धर्मे वैश्यवृत्तिः, विक्रय-निषेधाः, तथा ब्रह्म-क्षत्र-सम्बन्धः
Emergency Livelihood, Prohibited Trade, and Brahman–Kshatra Regulation
कार्य कुर्यान्न वा कुर्यात् संवार्यो वा भवेन्न वा । तस्माच्छस्त्रं ग्रहीतव्यमन्यत्र क्षत्रबन्धुत:
kāryaṁ kuryān na vā kuryāt saṁvāryo vā bhaven na vā | tasmāc chastraṁ grahītavyam anyatra kṣatrabandhutaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira disse: “Se se deve agir ou se deve abster-se; se se deve impedir ou não—por isso, exceto no caso de um ‘kṣatrabandhu’ (kṣatriya apenas de nome), o tomar armas deve ser aceito como necessário. Quando os ladrões se multiplicam, a ordem social colapsa e não se encontra remédio para a proteção do povo, mesmo aqueles fora da classe dos kṣatriya podem, com justiça, portar armas para defender o dharma e salvaguardar a comunidade.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
In crisis conditions where public safety and dharma are threatened, the ethical priority becomes protection of society; taking up arms can be justified beyond strict varṇa-role boundaries, while those who are kṣatriya only in name (kṣatrabandhu) are excluded from being treated as proper agents of righteous force.
Yudhiṣṭhira questions Bhīṣma about governance and emergency ethics: if banditry grows and social disorder spreads, can a strong brāhmaṇa, vaiśya, or śūdra wield punitive force to protect people when kṣatriyas fail? This verse frames the dilemma—act or refrain, restrain or allow—and leans toward permitting arms for protection in exceptional circumstances.