Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 17
ऋष्विम्भिब्रह्मकल्पैश्व भ्रातृभि: सह धर्मज: । आसाटद्य शरतल्पस्थमृषिभि: परिवारितम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
ṛṣvimbhi brahmakalpaiś ca bhrātṛbhiḥ saha dharmajaḥ |
āsādya śaratālpastham ṛṣibhiḥ parivāritam |
tad-anantaraṃ kuru-nandanaḥ dharmaputraḥ dharmarājaḥ yudhiṣṭhiraḥ brahmajīva sama-tejasvī ṛtvigbhiḥ bhrātṛbhiḥ tathā ṛṣibhiś ca ghṛtaḥ bāṇa-śayyāyāṃ śayānaṃ bharata-śreṣṭhaṃ gaṅgāputraṃ bhīṣmam etad uvāca ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Then Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of Dharma, accompanied by his brothers and surrounded by venerable sages—men of brahman-like sanctity—approached Bhīṣma, the best of the Bharatas, the son of Gaṅgā, who lay upon his bed of arrows. Standing amid priests, brothers, and ṛṣis, Yudhiṣṭhira, radiant like Brahmā himself, addressed Bhīṣma in this manner.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the ethical setting for instruction: a righteous king (Yudhiṣṭhira) approaches a dying elder (Bhīṣma) in the presence of sages and priests, signaling that dharma is to be learned through humility, proper counsel, and authoritative tradition—especially after the moral trauma of war.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira, with his brothers and accompanied by ṛṣis and priests, goes to Bhīṣma who lies on the arrow-bed, and then begins to speak to him—introducing the forthcoming discourse of Anuśāsana (instruction) delivered by Bhīṣma.