Shloka 23
Brāhmaṇa-vandana: Criteria for Veneration, Disciplined Speech, and Protective Kingship (अनुशासनपर्व, अध्याय ८)
(ब्राह्मणानुज्ञया ग्राह्मूं राज्यं च सपुरोहितै: । तद्रक्षणेन स्वर्गोडस्य तत्कोपान्नरको$क्षय: ।।
brāhmaṇānujñayā grāhyaṁ rājyaṁ ca sapurohitaiḥ | tad-rakṣaṇena svargo 'sya tat-kopān narako 'kṣayaḥ || putravat ca tato rakṣyā upāsyā guruvat te | agnivat copacaryā vai brāhmaṇāḥ kurusattama ||
Bhīṣma said: “Kings, together with their priests, should accept and hold sovereignty only with the sanction of the Brāhmaṇas. By protecting the brāhmaṇas a ruler attains heaven; but by provoking their wrath he falls into hell for an unending time. Therefore, O best of the Kurus, brāhmaṇas must be guarded like one’s own sons, revered like teachers, and served and worshipped as one would tend the sacred fire.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Royal authority is ethically legitimate only when aligned with Brāhmaṇic sanction and protection of the learned/priestly class; safeguarding them leads to merit (svarga), while offending them brings grave demerit (naraka). The verse frames Brāhmaṇas as dependents to be protected (like sons), authorities to be revered (like gurus), and sacred presences to be ritually honored (like fire).
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he emphasizes rajadharma: how a king should relate to Brāhmaṇas and royal priests, presenting their protection and reverence as a decisive factor in the king’s moral and post-mortem fate.