Shloka 16
दुर्ग-निवेश-राजधर्मः | Fortified Capital and the King’s Residential Polity
Rājadharma
सत्कृताश्च प्रयत्नेन आचार्यर्त्विकुपुरोहिता: । महेष्वासा: स्थपतय: सांवत्सरचिकित्सका:
satkṛtāś ca prayatnena ācārya-ṛtvij-purohitāḥ | maheṣvāsāḥ sthapatayaḥ sāṁvatsara-cikitsakāḥ ||
Bhishma sprach: „Mit bewusster Mühe soll man Lehrer (ācārya), Opferpriester (ṛtvij) und Hauspriester (purohita) ehren und ihnen den gebührenden Empfang bereiten; ebenso große Bogenschützen, Meisterbauer, Astrologen, die das Jahr und seine Wirkungen berechnen, und Ärzte. Denn ein wohlgeordnetes Leben und Reich ruht auf der Achtung vor jenen, deren Wissen, rituelle Pflicht, Schutz, Handwerk, Zeitrechnung und Heilkunst die Gesellschaft tragen.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A dhārmic ruler or householder should consciously honor key bearers of knowledge and public welfare—teachers, priests, chaplains, defenders (great archers), builders, time-reckoners/astrologers, and physicians—because their expertise sustains moral, ritual, and practical stability in society.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and governance, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira by listing categories of respected professionals and urging their proper reception and support as part of righteous conduct and statecraft.