Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 473
प्रजापति सार्वभौम॑ कीर्तयेद् वसुधाधिपम् । इनका नाम लेनेवाले मनुष्यके धर्म
bhīṣma uvāca | prajāpatiṃ sārvabhaumaṃ kīrtayed vasudhādhipam | tasya nāma-grahaṇāt puṃsāṃ dharma-artha-kāma-siddhir bhavati | venakumāraṃ nṛpaśreṣṭhaṃ pṛthuṃ kīrtayitavyaṃ yasya iyaṃ pṛthivī putrībhūtā prajāpatiś ca sārvabhauma-samrāṭ ca |
Bhishma said: “One should celebrate and recite the praise of that sovereign lord of the earth who was also a Prajapati. By taking his name, people attain success in dharma, material prosperity, and rightful enjoyment. Therefore one should extol Prithu, the best of kings, the son of Vena—he to whom this very Earth became as a daughter, and who stood as a Prajapati and a universal emperor.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that remembering and praising an exemplary, dharma-rooted sovereign—Prithu—brings integrated human flourishing: moral excellence (dharma), material stability (artha), and rightful enjoyment (kama). The verse links ethical kingship with spiritual merit through name-recitation and celebration of virtuous fame.
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira within the Anushasana Parva, he recommends the kirtana (praise/recitation) of King Prithu, son of Vena, describing him as a universal emperor and Prajapati, and noting the mythic motif that Earth became as his daughter—signifying his protective, nurturing rule over the world.