Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
शुभं हि कर्म राजेन्द्र शुभत्वायोपकल्पते । आत्मना कारणैश्वैव समस्येह महीक्षित:
śubhaṃ hi karma rājendra śubhatvāyopakalpate | ātmanā kāraṇaiś caiva samasy eha mahīkṣitaḥ ||
Bhishma sprach: „O Bester der Könige, eine heilsame Tat führt wahrhaft zum Glückverheißenden. Hier, o Herrscher der Erde, gelangt man durch das eigene Selbst—und durch die Ursachen, die man selbst in Gang setzt—zu einem ausgeglichenen, fest gegründeten Zustand.“
भीष्म उवाच
Auspicious outcomes arise from auspicious actions; one’s welfare is shaped by one’s own agency and the causal conditions one creates—ethical conduct is itself a means to well-being and inner balance.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) on dharma and right governance. Here he emphasizes that good deeds naturally yield auspiciousness and that the king’s condition is determined by his own actions and their causes.