Shloka 23
निबोधत यथावृत्तमुच्यमानं मयानघा: । राजवृत्तेन सम्पन्न: प्रज्मयाभिजनेन च
nibodhata yathāvṛttam ucyamānaṃ mayānaghāḥ | rājavṛttena sampannaḥ prajñayābhijanena ca ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O sinless ones, listen carefully to the true account as I relate it. Bhīṣma was endowed with kingly conduct and discipline; he was also distinguished by wisdom and by noble lineage.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Bhīṣma as an exemplar of dharma through rājavṛtta (royal ethical discipline), prajñā (wisdom), and abhijana (noble lineage), implying that true greatness is measured by conduct and discernment, not merely status.
Vaiśampāyana addresses the listeners as “blameless ones” and begins a truthful narration, introducing Bhīṣma’s virtues—his adherence to royal duty, his wisdom, and his noble birth—as part of a laudatory account connected with the aftermath of Bhīṣma’s passing.