Shloka 25
Brāhmaṇa-vandana: Criteria for Veneration, Disciplined Speech, and Protective Kingship (अनुशासनपर्व, अध्याय ८)
(दूरतो मातृवत् पूज्या विप्रदारा: सुरक्षया ।) सरल
dūrato mātṛvat pūjyā vipradārāḥ surakṣayā | tejasas tapasaś caiva nityaṃ bibhyed yudhiṣṭhira | ubhe caite parityājye tejaś caiva tapas tathā ||
Bhīṣma said: “O Yudhiṣṭhira, the wives of Brāhmaṇas should be honored from a respectful distance as one would honor a mother, while ensuring their protection. One should always stand in awe of a Brāhmaṇa’s spiritual radiance and ascetic power; and in their presence one must abandon any pride in one’s own brilliance or austerity. Reverence, restraint, and humility before such sacred power are themselves forms of dharma.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that sacred authority grounded in learning and austerity must be approached with humility and restraint. One should honor Brāhmaṇas and especially safeguard and respectfully revere their wives, while abandoning any ego about one’s own power or ascetic achievements.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on conduct (dharma). Here he emphasizes social and ethical discipline: reverence toward Brāhmaṇas, protective respect toward their wives, and an attitude of awe toward the spiritual potency (tejas, tapas) associated with ascetic life.