Shloka 9
अध्याय २०८ — इन्द्रियनिग्रहः, सत्याहिंसात्मकवाक्, कर्मफलविवेकः
Restraint of the Senses, Non-harming Truthful Speech, and Discernment of Karmic Consequence
अन्रेश्नैवौरस: श्रीमान् राजा सोमश्न वीर्यवान् | सहस्र॑ यश्व दिव्यानां युगानां पर्युपासिता,अत्रिके औरस पुत्र श्रीमान् और बलवान राजा सोम हुए, जिन्होंने सहस्र दिव्य युगोंतक भगवानकी उपासना की थी
Bhīṣma uvāca: Atrer aurasaḥ śrīmān rājā Somaśravā vīryavān | sahasraṃ caiva divyānāṃ yugānāṃ paryupāsitaḥ ||
Bhishma said: From Atri’s own lineage there was a glorious and valiant king named Somaśravā. He is remembered as one who, for a thousand divine ages, remained steadfast in worship and disciplined devotion.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True royal excellence is not merely martial strength or wealth; it is sustained devotion and disciplined practice over time. The verse holds up Somaśravā as an ethical model: power grounded in reverence, endurance, and dharmic conduct.
Bhishma, while instructing on dharma in the Shanti Parva, introduces an exemplary figure from Atri’s lineage—King Somaśravā—highlighting his extraordinary long-term worship across ‘a thousand divine yugas’ to underscore the ideal of steadfast devotion.