Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 18
अब्रवीद् भरतश्रेष्ठ धर्मराजो युधिष्ठिर: । भ्रातृभि: सह कौरव्य: शयानं निम्नगासुतम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca | abravīd bharataśreṣṭha dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | bhrātṛbhiḥ saha kauravyaḥ śayānaṃ nimnagāsutam || tad-anantaraṃ kuru-nandanaḥ dharma-putraḥ dharmarājaḥ yudhiṣṭhiraḥ brahmaṇā iva samāna-tejasvī ṛtvigbhiḥ bhrātṛbhiḥ tathā ṛṣibhiḥ parivṛtaḥ bāṇa-śayyāyāṃ śayānaṃ bharataśreṣṭhaṃ gaṅgāputraṃ bhīṣmaṃ bhrātṛbhiḥ saha evaṃ uvāca ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Then Yudhiṣṭhira, the righteous king and foremost of the Bharatas, spoke. Surrounded by his brothers—along with priests and sages, radiant as Brahmā—Kuru’s delight, Dharma’s son Yudhiṣṭhira, approached Bhīṣma, the son of the Gaṅgā, lying upon his bed of arrows, and addressed him in these words.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets the ethical frame for the discourse: rightful rule and personal conduct (dharma) must be learned humbly from authoritative elders and sages, especially after the devastation of war. Yudhiṣṭhira’s approach to Bhīṣma signals that victory is incomplete without moral clarification and guidance.
After the war, Yudhiṣṭhira—attended by his brothers, priests, and sages—goes to Bhīṣma, who lies on an arrow-bed, and begins to address him. This introduces Bhīṣma’s extended instruction on dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva.