Shloka 1

Brāhmaṇa-vandana: Criteria for Veneration, Disciplined Speech, and Protective Kingship (अनुशासनपर्व, अध्याय ८)

Devanagari script

ऑपन-माज बछ। डे अष्टमो< ध्याय: श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मणोंकी महिमा युधिछिर उवाच के पूज्या: के नमस्कार्या: कान्‌ नमस्यसि भारत । एतन्मे सर्वमाचक्ष्व येभ्य: स्पृहयसे नूप

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | ke pūjyāḥ ke namaskāryāḥ kān namasyasi bhārata | etan me sarvam ācakṣva yebhyaḥ spṛhayase nṛpa ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O Bhārata, who are truly worthy of worship and who deserve reverent salutation? To whom do you yourself bow? Tell me all this in full, O king—those persons for whom you feel esteem and longing to honor.”

Word by Word

• {'yudhiṣṭhira uvāca': 'Yudhiṣṭhira said', 'ke': 'who? which persons?', 'pūjyāḥ': 'worthy of worship/honor

• deserving veneration', 'namaskāryāḥ': 'fit to be saluted

• deserving respectful greeting', 'kān': 'whom (accusative plural)', 'namasyasi': 'you bow to

• you salute/revere', 'bhārata': 'O Bhārata (descendant of Bharata

• address to Bhīṣma)', 'etat': 'this', 'me': 'to me

• for me', 'sarvam': 'all

• entirely', 'ācakṣva': 'tell

• declare', 'yebhyaḥ': 'for whom

• towards whom (dative/ablative plural)', 'spṛhayase': 'you desire/long for

• you feel eager admiration for', 'nṛpa': 'O king

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Bhīṣma (addressed as Bhārata)
• Bharata (dynastic reference)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a dharmic inquiry: true honor is not automatic but based on worthiness. Yudhiṣṭhira asks for criteria by which people merit worship and salutation, preparing for an ethical teaching on whom society and a king should revere.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira questions Bhīṣma, who is instructing him on dharma. Here Yudhiṣṭhira asks Bhīṣma to identify those deserving reverence and whom Bhīṣma himself honors, setting up the chapter’s discussion (noted in the Gītā Press heading) on the greatness of excellent brāhmaṇas.