Shloka 32
अन्नदान-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Gift of Food) | Annadāna-Praśaṃsā
तात! यदि ब्राह्मण क्षत्रियोंके द्वारा सम्मानित न हों तथा क्षत्रियमें सदा रहनेवाले निष्ठर कर्मको देखकर ब्राह्मण भी उनका परित्याग कर दें तो वे क्षत्रिय वेद
tāta! yadi brāhmaṇāḥ kṣatriyaiḥ na satkṛtāḥ syuḥ, tathā kṣatriye sadā vartamānaṃ niṣṭhuraṃ karma dṛṣṭvā brāhmaṇā api tān parityajeyuḥ, tadā te kṣatriyā vedāt, yajñāt, uttamalokāt, ājīvikāyāś ca bhraṣṭāḥ syuḥ. tasmin daśāyāṃ brāhmaṇānām āśrayaṃ gṛhṇatāṃ tvām ṛte teṣāṃ anyeṣāṃ kṣatriyāṇāṃ jīvitena kiṃ prayojanam? annaṃ te vartayiṣyāmi yathā dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ | rājanyo brāhmaṇān rājann purā paricacāra ha ||
भीष्म उवाच—तात, यदि क्षत्रियैः ब्राह्मणाः न सम्मान्येरन्, तथा क्षत्रिये सततं स्थितं निष्ठुरं कर्म दृष्ट्वा ब्राह्मणाः अपि तान् परित्यजेयुः, तदा ते क्षत्रियाः वेदात् यज्ञात् उत्तमलोकात् आजीविकायाश्च भ्रष्टाः स्युः। तस्मिन् काले, ब्राह्मणाश्रयं त्वां विना, अन्येषां क्षत्रियाणां जीवितेन किं प्रयोजनम्? अन्नं ते वर्तयिष्यामि यथा धर्मः सनातनः; पुरा हि, राजन्, राजन्यो ब्राह्मणान् परिचचार।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that royal power must be restrained and guided by reverence for Brahminical learning and ritual authority; when Kshatriyas fail to honor Brahmins (and Brahmins withdraw support), the Kshatriyas lose access to Vedic legitimacy, sacrificial merit, higher spiritual destinations, and even stable livelihood—so the ruler’s ethical survival depends on maintaining this reciprocal dharmic relationship.
In Anushasana Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhishma addresses a king (traditionally Yudhiṣṭhira) and warns about the consequences of alienating Brahmins through harsh conduct. He contrasts a degenerate present with an idealized past where Kshatriyas served Brahmins, and he frames the king’s refuge in Brahmins as the meaningful basis for rulership and social stability.