Shloka 41
अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः
Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving
भीष्म उवाच एतदू वै सर्वमाख्यातं मुनिना सुमहात्मना । विदेहराजाय पुरा श्रेयसो<र्थे नराधिप,भीष्मजी कहते हैं--युधिष्ठिर! प्राचीनकालमें महात्मा पराशर मुनिने विदेहराज जनकके कल्याणके लिये यह सब उपदेश दिया था
bhīṣma uvāca | etad u vai sarvam ākhyātaṃ muninā sumahātmanā | videharājāya purā śreyaso 'rthe narādhipa |
ভীষ্ম ক’লে—হে নৰাধিপ! প্ৰাচীন কালত মহাত্মা মুনিয়ে বিদেহৰাজ জনকৰ পৰম শ্ৰেয়সৰ্থে এই সকলো উপদেশ সম্পূৰ্ণৰূপে কৈছিল।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma emphasizes that the counsel being delivered is not novel opinion but an authoritative, time-tested instruction originally taught by a great sage to King Janaka for his highest welfare (śreyas), underscoring the ethical weight of traditional dharma-teachings for rulers.
In the Shanti Parva dialogue, Bhishma continues advising King Yudhishthira and frames the preceding (or ongoing) discourse as a transmission of ancient wisdom: the sage Parashara once taught the same to Janaka of Videha for his good, and Bhishma now relays it to Yudhishthira.