Shloka 15
Gārhasthya-Śreṣṭhatā and Kṣatriya-Daṇḍadhāraṇa
Householder Primacy and the Royal Duty of Punishment
भूमिरेतौ निगिरति सर्पे बिलशयानिव । राजानं चाविरोद्धारं ब्राह्मणं चाप्रवासिनम्
bhūmir etau nigirati sarpe bilaśayān iva | rājānaṃ cāviroddhāraṃ brāhmaṇaṃ cāpravāsinam ||
毗耶娑说道：“如同毒蛇吞噬穴居之物，大地也会‘吞没’这两类人：不加制止、毫无抗御的国王（不遏恶行者），以及不出行、不奋勉的婆罗门（怠于其应行之修持者）。”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Two forms of dereliction are condemned: a king who fails to restrain wrongdoing and protect order, and a brāhmaṇa who remains inactive instead of pursuing the disciplined obligations of his role. Both are said to be ‘swallowed by the earth,’ i.e., brought to ruin and obscurity by the consequences of neglected dharma.
Vyāsa delivers a proverbial warning within the Shānti Parva’s instruction on dharma: using the image of a serpent swallowing burrow-dwelling creatures, he states that the earth similarly consumes two negligent figures—an unresisting king and a brāhmaṇa who does not ‘go forth’—to stress accountability in governance and spiritual life.