Shloka 20
तमकूजमभिकज्ञाय जनौघं सर्वशस्तदा । पूजयित्वा यथान्यायं पाद्येनाघ्येण च प्रभो,राजन्! उस समय वहाँ आये हुए समस्त जनसमुदायको चुपचाप बैठे देख भीष्मजीने पाद्य-अर्घ्य आदिके द्वारा सब महर्षियोंकी यथोचित पूजा करके उन्हें अपने राज्य तथा राष्ट्रका कुशल-समाचार निवेदन किया। तब उन महर्षियोंमें जो सबसे अधिक वृद्ध थे, वे जटा और मृगचर्म धारण करनेवाले मुनि अन्य सब ऋषियोंकी अनुमति लेकर इस प्रकार बोले---
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: tam akūjam abhikajñāya janaughaṁ sarvaśas tadā | pūjayitvā yathānyāyaṁ pādyenārghyeṇa ca prabho ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Then, perceiving the assembled multitude sitting in quiet attention, Bhīṣma duly honored the great sages according to proper custom—offering water for washing the feet and the arghya offering. Having thus shown reverence, he inquired after the welfare of their realms and people. Thereupon, the eldest among those sages—wearing matted locks and a deerskin—having obtained the consent of the other ṛṣis, began to speak.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights dharma in the form of proper hospitality and reverence: a ruler upholds ethical order by honoring sages according to established custom (pādya and arghya) and by seeking the welfare of realms and people, showing that power is guided by respect for spiritual authority and social propriety.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Bhīṣma sees the gathered people sitting quietly, receives and honors the assembled sages with formal offerings, asks about the well-being of their domains, and then the eldest sage—after obtaining the others’ consent—begins to speak.