Kṛṣṇa is pointing out that, "As a kṣatriya you must follow your principle, kṣatriya principle." What is kṣatriya principle? Kṣatriya principle is that dharmyāddhi yuddhāt, dharmyāddhi yuddhāc chreyo 'nyat kṣatriyasya na vidyate. Kṣatriya must be always prepared, and if required, to fight also, whether people are keeping their own principle of religion. That is kṣatriya's duty. He, if a brāhmaṇa is bluffing people that "I am brāhmaṇa," but he is acting as a śūdra, immediately kṣatriya should point out and offer him fight: "Why you are cheating people? Why you are cheating people?" Similarly, a kṣatriya is declaring himself that "I am kṣatriya," but he's acting as a śūdra, it is the kṣatriya's or the government's duty that "Why you are cheating people?"
So a kṣatriya's business is always prepared to fight. Fight means that to see that everyone is acting nicely. Because if you are not acting nicely, and if I say that, "You are not acting nicely," you'll be angry. Mūrkhāsya upadeśa prakopāya na śāntaye (Hitopadeśa). Because if one is actually brāhmaṇa, he must act as a brāhmaṇa. So if somebody says that, "You are declaring yourself as brāhmaṇa but you are not following the brāhmaṇa principle," he will be angry. But a kṣatriya's duty is that if he is angry, he should be punished immediately. He should be punished immediately. Kṣatriya's yuddhāc, dharmyāddhi yuddhāt. He should challenge. Challenging means yuddha, fight. So kṣatriya cannot be nonviolent. It is not possible. Violence is also required to keep the social system strictly in order. Just like the government has violence department—the police department, the military department. That is required to keep up the society in order.
So here Kṛṣṇa says that, "You are kṣatriya; your duty is to fight." Dharmyāddhi yuddhāt. "This fight arranged by Me in the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, because it is sanctioned by Me, it is dharma-yuddha, it is religious fighting." It is not the political diplomats declaring war to keep the people in ignorance. No. It is sanctioned by Kṛṣṇa. Whatever is sanctioned by Kṛṣṇa, that is dharma. dharma, the explanation of dharma I have several times given you, that dharmaṁ hi sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam: whatever God sanctions, that is dharma. So God, Kṛṣṇa, personally has sanctioned this Battle of Kurukṣetra. So therefore it is dharma, dharma-yuddha, religious fight. It is not ordinary fighting of the diplomats and the politicians. It is dharma-yuddha. So therefore He says, dharmyāddhi yuddhāc chreyo 'nyat kṣatriyasya na vidyate: "You are kṣatriya. You are fighting for the sake of religious system. That is the . . . your first-class duty." Śreyaḥ.
So a kṣatriya . . . these four principles must be there in the society, brāhmaṇa, kṣat . . . the brāhmaṇa will not be required to fight. A brāhmaṇa will not be required to work like śūdra. A brāhmaṇa will not be required to work like vaiśya. Therefore brāhmaṇa can beg. Paṭhana pāṭhana yajana yājana dāna pratigrahaḥ. This is brāhmaṇa's business. He must be good scholar in Vedic literature and he must teach others. Not that "I have learned everything; I'll not teach anything." No.