Shloka 17
ब्राह्मणपूजा-राजधर्मः | Royal Duty of Honoring Learned Brahmins
विप्रक्षत्रियसम्बाधां वैश्यशूद्रसमाकुलाम् । नैकद्रव्योच्चयवर्ती समृद्धविपणापणाम्
viprakṣatriyasambādhāṁ vaiśyaśūdrasamākulām | naikadravyoccayavartī samṛddhavipaṇāpaṇām ||
Bhishma nói: “Thành ấy đông đúc Bà-la-môn và Sát-đế-lỵ, lại chen chúc cả Phệ-xá và Thủ-đà-la. Nó phồn thịnh nhờ tích tụ đủ loại hàng hóa; các chợ búa, phố thị và cửa tiệm đều dồi dào, hưng vượng.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ideal of well-ordered civic life: a city where all four varnas are present and active, and where prosperity arises from the orderly accumulation and exchange of goods. Implicitly, it commends social stability, productive livelihoods, and governance that enables flourishing markets without disorder.
Bhishma is describing a city (puri) as part of his discourse, portraying it as populous and prosperous—crowded with Brahmins and Kshatriyas and teeming with Vaishyas and Shudras, with markets and bazaars richly stocked—setting a scene of material abundance and organized urban life.