Shloka 148
ज्येष्ठ-कनिष्ठ-धर्मः — Duties of Elders and Juniors
Anuśāsana-parva 108
गान्धर्वशास्त्रं च कला: परिज्ञेया नराधिप । पुराणमितिहासाश्च॒ तथाख्यानानि यानि च
gāndharvaśāstraṃ ca kalāḥ parijñeyā narādhipa | purāṇam itihāsāś ca tathākhyānāni yāni ca ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „O König, du sollst dich auch gründlich mit der Wissenschaft der Musik (Gāndharva-śāstra) und mit den Künsten vertraut machen. Ebenso sollst du die Purāṇas, die Itihāsas (geschichtlichen Erzählungen) sowie die vielfältigen überlieferten Berichte und Legenden kennen.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that a king’s education should be comprehensive: along with governance and dharma, he should master cultural disciplines (music and arts) and be grounded in traditional narrative knowledge (Purāṇas, Itihāsas, and other ākhyānas), which shape ethical judgment and public leadership.
In the Anuśāsana-parvan’s instruction section, Bhīṣma continues advising the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) on the qualities and learning appropriate for a ruler, listing fields of knowledge—music, arts, and traditional sacred-historical narratives—that should be studied.