Shloka 23

राज्ञोऽभिषेकः, अराजकदोषः, दण्डधारणस्य आवश्यकता

Royal Consecration, the Fault of Kinglessness, and the Necessity of Enforcement

Devanagari script

ज्येष्ठानुज्येष्ठपत्नीनां भ्रातृणां पुत्रनप्तृणाम्‌ । निग्रहानुग्रहौ पार्थ गाहस्थ्यमिति तत्‌ तप:

Transliteration

jyeṣṭhānujyeṣṭhapatnīnāṃ bhrātṝṇāṃ putranaptṝṇām | nigrahānugrahau pārtha gārhasthyam iti tat tapaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma sprach: „O Pārtha, die Zucht des Hausstandes besteht darin, zu wissen, wann man zügeln und wann man Gunst erweisen soll—gegenüber Älteren und Jüngeren, gegenüber den Frauen der Älteren und den jüngeren Verwandten, sowie gegenüber Brüdern, Söhnen und Enkeln. Diese ausgewogene Führung der Familie ist an sich eine Askese (tapas).“

Word by Word

ज्येष्ठ-अनुज्येष्ठ-पत्नीनाम्of the wives of the elder and the younger (brothers)

भ्रातृणाम्of brothers

पुत्र-नप्तृणाम्of sons and grandsons

निग्रह-अनुग्रहौrestraint and favor (punishment and reward)

पार्थO Partha (Arjuna)

गाहस्थ्यम्the householder’s duty/state (gṛhastha-āśrama)

इतिthus

तत्that

तपःausterity; discipline

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Pārtha (Arjuna)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Householder dharma is not merely ritual or earning a livelihood; it is the disciplined art of applying restraint (nigraha) and kindness/support (anugraha) appropriately within the family. This balanced moral governance is itself tapas (austerity).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira’s side (addressing Arjuna here as ‘Pārtha’) on dharma after the war. This verse highlights domestic ethics: how one should regulate and nurture relationships with elders, younger relatives, brothers, children, and grandchildren.