Shloka 13
धर्मनिन्दा–धर्मोपासनाफलम् तथा साध्वाचारलक्षणम्
Fruits of Disparaging vs. Observing Dharma; Marks of Good Conduct
क्षत्रियो वा महाभागे वैश्यो वा धर्मचारिणि । स्वानि कर्माण्यपाहाय शूद्रकर्म निषेवते
kṣatriyo vā mahābhāge vaiśyo vā dharmacāriṇi | svāni karmāṇy apāhāya śūdrakarma niṣevate ||
महेश्वर उवाच—महाभागे धर्मचारिणि, क्षत्रियो वा वैश्यो वा स्वानि कर्माण्यपाहाय शूद्रकर्म निषेवते चेत् स स्वस्थानात् परिभ्रष्टो वर्णसंकरकारकः सन् परजन्मनि शूद्रयोनौ जायते। यः कश्चिद् ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रियो वैश्यो वा, एतादृशेनाचारेण शूद्रभावं गच्छति।
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes svadharma: one should not abandon one’s prescribed responsibilities and adopt another varṇa’s occupational role out of disregard for dharma; such deviation is presented as ethically and socially destabilizing and as carrying karmic consequences, including a lower rebirth.
Maheshvara (Śiva) is instructing a noble woman addressed as “mahābhāge” and “dharmacāriṇi,” explaining the consequences, within a varṇa-dharma framework, of a Kshatriya or Vaishya giving up their own duties to perform Shudra-type work.