Shloka 3
Adhyāya 90 — Protection of Livelihoods, Brahmanical Subsistence Norms, and Royal Oversight (राष्ट्रवृत्ति-राष्ट्रगुप्ति-उपदेशः)
विप्रश्नेत् त्यागमातिष्ठेदात्मार्थ वृत्तिकर्शित: । परिकल्प्यास्य वृत्ति: स्थात् सदारस्य नराधिप
bhīṣma uvāca | vipraḥ śneta tyāgam ātiṣṭhed ātmārtha-vṛtti-karśitaḥ | parikalpyāsya vṛttiḥ sthāt sadāraś ca narādhipa, rājan |
毗湿摩曰：“王啊，若有婆罗门因无以自给而困敝，将弃国他往，则为人主者当尽其责，为其与其家属筹措生计，使之得以安住。如此，君王护持学问与以学为生之人，便是守护法（dharma）。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king must ensure that a brahmin who is weakened by lack of livelihood is provided for—along with his household—so that he need not abandon the kingdom; this is presented as a concrete obligation of rajadharma.
In Bhishma’s instruction to the king during the Shanti Parva, he describes a scenario where a brahmin, unable to sustain himself, prepares to leave the realm; Bhishma states that the ruler should intervene by arranging stable support for the brahmin and his family.