Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 83
धर्मो विवर्धति भूगो: परिकीर्तनेन वीर्य विवर्धति वसिष्ठनमोनतेन । संग्रामजिद् भवति चैव रघुं नमस्यन् स्यादश्विनौ च परिकीर्तयतो न रोग:
dharmo vivardhati bhṛgoḥ parikīrtanena vīryaṁ vivardhati vasiṣṭha-namonatena | saṅgrāmajid bhavati caiva raghuṁ namasyan syād aśvinau ca parikīrtayato na rogaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: By praising Bhṛgu, dharma increases; by bowing in reverence to Vasiṣṭha, one’s strength and valor increase. By saluting Raghu, one becomes a conqueror in battle; and for one who celebrates the Aśvins, there arises no disease. Thus, remembrance and reverent invocation of exemplary sages and divine healers is taught as a means to cultivate virtue, vigor, victory, and health.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that reverent remembrance—through praise (parikīrtana) and salutation (namas)—of exemplary sages and divine benefactors is ethically transformative: it nurtures dharma, strengthens inner and outer vigor, supports success in righteous struggle, and promotes health.
Bhīṣma, instructing on conduct and religious merit in the Anuśāsana Parva, lists specific fruits of honoring revered figures—Bhṛgu, Vasiṣṭha, Raghu, and the Aśvin twins—presenting devotion and respectful invocation as practical disciplines with moral and worldly benefits.