Shloka 18
Chapter 78: Royal Responsibility for Wealth, Social Order, and the Protection of Dvijas
Kekaya Exemplum
कृपणानाथवृद्धानां दुर्बलातुरयोषिताम् । संविभक्तास्मि सर्वेषां मामकान्तरमाविश:
kṛpaṇānātha-vṛddhānāṁ durbalātura-yoṣitām | saṁvibhaktāsmi sarveṣāṁ māmakāntaram āviśaḥ ||
দীন, অনাথ, বৃদ্ধ, দুর্বল, রোগী ও নারীদের আমি নিয়মিত অন্ন-বস্ত্র, ঔষধ প্রভৃতি প্রয়োজনীয় বস্তু বিতরণ করি; তবু তুমি কীভাবে আমার অন্তঃস্থ সত্তায় প্রবেশ করলে?
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
External charity (giving food, clothing, medicine) is a major dharmic duty, yet Bhīṣma highlights that inner affliction can still arise; true righteousness requires both outward generosity and inward vigilance against subtle moral or spiritual ‘entry’—such as pride, negligence, or unseen fault.
In the Śānti discourse, Bhīṣma speaks as a moral instructor. Here he points to his ongoing support of vulnerable people and then questions how some troubling influence has nevertheless entered his own person—framing a reflective inquiry into the limits of outward good deeds and the need for inner discernment.