Shloka 36
कपोत-लुब्धकसंवादः — Hunter’s Remorse and Renunciatory Resolve
भीष्म उवाच ब्राह्मणानेव सेवेत विद्यावृद्धांस्तपस्विन: । श्रुतचारित्रवृत्ताब्यान् पवित्र होतदुत्तमम्
bhīṣma uvāca brāhmaṇān eva seveta vidyā-vṛddhāṁs tapasvinaḥ | śruta-cāritra-vṛttāḍhyān pavitrāṁs te tad uttamam ||
Bhishma said: “O king, one should associate with and serve only those Brahmins who are advanced in learning and austerity—endowed with sacred study, noble character, and disciplined conduct. Such service is supremely excellent and purifying.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Choose one’s guides and associates carefully: serve and learn from Brahmins who combine learning (vidyā/śruta) with austerity (tapas) and exemplary character and conduct (cāritra, vṛtta). Such association is presented as a highly purifying dharmic act.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma continues advising King Yudhiṣṭhira on righteous living after the war, emphasizing that the king should honor and serve truly qualified, virtuous Brahmins as part of sustaining dharma in society.