Shloka 124
Āśā-prabhava (आशाप्रभव) — On the Rise and Power of Hope/Expectation
Sumitra Itihāsa Begins
भीष्मजी कहते हैं--कुन्तीनन्दन! राजा धृतराष्ट्रने अपने पुत्रको यह उपदेश दिया था। तुम भी इसका आचरण करो, इससे तुम्हें भी वही फल प्राप्त होगा ।।
bhīṣma uvāca—kuntīnandana! rājā dhṛtarāṣṭreṇa svaputrāya eṣa upadeśaḥ dattaḥ. tvam api asya ācaraṇaṃ kuru; anena tvam api tad eva phalaṃ prāpsyasi. iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi rājadharmānuśāsanaparvaṇi śīlavarṇanaṃ nāma caturviṃśatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ.
Bhīṣma sprach: „O Sohn der Kuntī! König Dhṛtarāṣṭra hat einst genau diesen Rat seinem eigenen Sohn erteilt. Auch du sollst ihn befolgen; tust du dies, wirst du dieselbe Frucht erlangen.“ So endet im Mahābhārata, im Śānti Parva, innerhalb des Abschnitts über die Unterweisung im königlichen Dharma, das Kapitel namens „Beschreibung des rechten Verhaltens (Śīla)“, das hundertvierundzwanzigste.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma emphasizes that ethical instruction is not merely to be heard but to be practiced (ācaraṇa). By embodying the counsel—especially in the context of rajadharma and śīla—Yudhishthira will gain the same beneficial ‘fruit’ that such conduct yields.
At the close of the chapter on śīla (good conduct) within the Rajadharma instruction of the Shanti Parva, Bhishma tells Yudhishthira that this counsel was earlier given by Dhritarashtra to his own son, and urges Yudhishthira to adopt it in practice to attain its results.