Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 53
हुताशनसमानेतान् महारूपान् महौजस: । उग्रकायान् महासतत्त्वान् कीर्तयेत् कीर्तिवर्धनान्
bhīṣma uvāca | hutāśana-samān etān mahā-rūpān mahaujasāḥ | ugra-kāyān mahā-sattvān kīrtayet kīrti-vardhanān |
Bhishma said: “These kings were like the sacrificial fire in brilliance—exceedingly handsome, of great energy, fierce in bodily presence, and possessed of lofty courage. One should recite and commemorate them, for such remembrance increases one’s own fame and elevates the mind toward noble ideals.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma emphasizes the ethical value of remembering and reciting the names and qualities of noble persons: such kīrtana is held to uplift the listener, strengthen admiration for virtue (courage, vigor, steadfastness), and thereby ‘increase fame’—both by association with noble exemplars and by cultivating one’s own character.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing Yudhishthira on dharma and exemplary conduct. Here he describes a group of kings as radiant like fire and endowed with heroic qualities, and he recommends that their deeds/names be commemorated—continuing a catalog-like praise meant to inspire and instruct.