Shloka 21
अव्यक्त-प्रबोधः (Awakening to the Unmanifest): The 25th and 26th Principles and Eligibility for Brahma-vidyā
कृषिश्च पाशुपाल्यं च वाणिज्यं च विशामपि । द्विजानां परिचर्या च शूद्रकर्म नराधिप,नरेश्वर! कृषि, पशुपालन और व्यापार--ये वैश्योंके कर्म हैं तथा द्विजातियोंकी सेवा शूद्रका धर्म है
kṛṣiś ca pāśupālyaṃ ca vāṇijyaṃ ca viśām api | dvijānāṃ paricaryā ca śūdrakarma narādhipa ||
Parāśara nói: “Nông nghiệp, chăn nuôi gia súc và buôn bán là bổn phận của giai cấp Vaiśya. Còn việc phụng sự và hầu cận những bậc ‘nhị sinh’ (dvija) là công việc chính đáng của Śūdra, hỡi Đại vương.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse outlines varṇa-based duties: Vaiśyas are associated with cultivation, animal husbandry, and commerce, while the Śūdra’s prescribed role is service to the twice-born. It frames social ethics in terms of assigned responsibilities (svadharma) meant to sustain societal functioning.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, the sage Parāśara addresses a king and enumerates occupational duties for different social orders, presenting a normative rule of conduct and social organization.