Shloka 25
अध्याय २०८ — इन्द्रियनिग्रहः, सत्याहिंसात्मकवाक्, कर्मफलविवेकः
Restraint of the Senses, Non-harming Truthful Speech, and Discernment of Karmic Consequence
इत्येतत् सर्वदेवानां चातुर्वर्ण्य प्रकीर्तितम् । एतान् वै प्रातरुत्थाय देवान् यस्तु प्रकीर्तयेत्
ity etat sarvadevānāṃ cāturvarṇyaṃ prakīrtitam | etān vai prātar utthāya devān yas tu prakīrtayet |
Bhīṣma said: “Thus has the fourfold order (of society) in relation to all the gods been set forth. Indeed, whoever rises in the morning and recites the names and praises of these gods…”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links dharma and social order (cāturvarṇya) with devotion: having explained the fourfold order in relation to the gods, Bhīṣma commends the practice of rising early and reciting/praising the gods as a disciplined, dharmic observance.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he concludes a description of cāturvarṇya connected with the gods and begins to state the benefit or rule concerning one who, upon waking in the morning, recites the gods’ names/praises.