Shloka 20
Adhyāya 64: Dāna-prakāra—Suvarṇa, Pānīya-dāna, Ghṛta-dāna, and Upakaraṇa-dāna
Utility Gifts
ब्राह्मणेषु प्रमूढेषु धर्मो विप्रणशेद् ध्रुवम् धर्मप्रणाशे भूतानामभाव: स्यान्न संशय:
brāhmaṇeṣu pramūḍheṣu dharmo vipraṇaśed dhruvam | dharmapraṇāśe bhūtānām abhāvaḥ syān na saṁśayaḥ ||
Bhishma sprach: „Wenn die Brāhmaṇas in Verblendung geraten und das Unterscheidungsvermögen verlieren, geht das Dharma gewiss zugrunde. Und wenn das Dharma zerstört ist, bricht die Fortdauer der Lebewesen selbst zusammen – daran besteht kein Zweifel.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts that dharma depends critically on the clarity and integrity of those entrusted with teaching and exemplifying it (here, brāhmaṇas). When they fall into delusion, dharma collapses, and with dharma’s collapse society and even the continuity of life is said to fall into ruin.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and social-ethical order. Here he emphasizes the grave consequences of moral and intellectual confusion among religious-ethical authorities, framing it as a cause of widespread disorder and destruction.