If the king knows his own duty he should not punish such a Brahmana. He should remember that a Brahmana becomes stricken with hunger only through the fault of the Kshatriya.
न तस्मै धारयेद् दण्डं राजा धर्मेण धर्मवित्। क्षत्रियस्य तु बालिश्या ब्राह्मणः क्लिश्यते क्षुधा॥