Shloka 35
भीष्मरक्षण-प्रकरणम् / The Protective Screen around Bhīṣma and the Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Clash
लोकस्तद्ू वेद यदहं पितु: प्रियचिकीर्षया । राज्यं स्फीतं महाबाहो स्त्रियश्न त्यक्तवान् पुरा
lokas tad veda yad ahaṁ pituḥ priyacikīrṣayā | rājyaṁ sphītaṁ mahābāho striyaś ca tyaktavān purā ||
Sañjaya said: “O mighty-armed one, the whole world knows this—that long ago, wishing to do what was dear to my father, I renounced a flourishing kingdom, and even women as well.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma expressed as filial duty and self-restraint: personal power and pleasure (kingdom and women) may be renounced to uphold a higher commitment and to fulfill what is deemed righteous toward one’s father.
A speaker recalls a widely known past act of renunciation—giving up a prosperous kingdom and marital/sexual life—framing it as a deliberate sacrifice made to please his father, thereby underscoring the moral authority behind his present stance in the war narrative.