Shloka 9
अहिंसा-आत्मौपम्य-उपदेशः | Instruction on Ahiṃsā and Self-Comparison Ethics
भरण्यां तु शिरो विद्यात् केशाना्द्रां नराधिप । समाप्ते तु घृतं दद्याद् ब्राह्मणे वेदपारगे
bharaṇyāṃ tu śiro vidyāt keśānārdraṃ narādhipa | samāpte tu ghṛtaṃ dadyād brāhmaṇe vedapārage ||
قال بهيشما: «أيها الملك، اعلم أن بهَرَني (Bharaṇī) هي “الرأس”، وأن آرْدْرَا (Ārdrā) هي “الشَّعر” (للهيئة الكونية). فإذا عُيِّنَتِ النكشترات للأعضاء على هذا النحو، وعُبِدَتْ بمانتراتها الخاصة—مع أداء الجَپَا (japa) والهوما (homa) كلَّ يوم—فإذا اكتملت المراعاة في ليلة البدر، فليُتَصَدَّق بالسمن المصفّى (ghee) لبرهمنٍ متبحّرٍ في الفيدات.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a dharmic pattern of observance: symbolic contemplation (mapping nakṣatras onto the body/cosmic form), disciplined daily worship with mantra-japa and homa, and concluding the vow with dāna—specifically, gifting ghee to a Veda-versed Brāhmaṇa—so that inner devotion is completed by outward generosity and support of sacred learning.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king on religious observances. Here he describes a specific ritual-visualization involving nakṣatras (Bharaṇī as the head, Ārdrā as the hair), followed by daily rites, and then prescribes a concluding full-moon donation of ghee to a learned Brāhmaṇa.