Shloka 6
Brāhmaṇa-vandana: Criteria for Veneration, Disciplined Speech, and Protective Kingship (अनुशासनपर्व, अध्याय ८)
संसत्सु वदतां तात हंसानामिव संघश: । मड्ुल्यरूपा रुचिरा दिव्यजीमूतनि:स्वना:
saṃsatsu vadatāṃ tāta haṃsānām iva saṃghaśaḥ | maṅgalyarūpā rucirā divyajīmūtaniḥsvanāḥ ||
Bhishma said: “Dear child, O Yudhishthira, when they speak in assemblies, their words come forth like the calls of a flock of swans—beautiful, auspicious, and pleasing, resonant like the deep sound of divine rain-clouds. Such Brahmanas—disciplined in conduct, devoted to study, self-restrained in the senses, sweet in speech, and endowed with both scriptural knowledge and good practice—are the ones I esteem. If a king desires to listen to such great souls, their counsel brings welfare and happiness in this world and the next.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king should value and listen to learned, self-controlled, ethically grounded Brahmanas whose speech is gentle, auspicious, and well-formed; such counsel benefits both worldly governance and the afterlife.
In the Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma and ideal social conduct; here he praises the exemplary Brahmanas whose dignified speech in assemblies resembles the pleasing, deep resonance of swans and rain-clouds.