Shloka 5
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
स वेदे मोक्षशास्त्रे च स्वे च शास्त्रे कृतश्रम: । इन्द्रियाणि समाधाय शशास वसुधामिमाम्
sa vede mokṣaśāstre ca sve ca śāstre kṛtaśramaḥ | indriyāṇi samādhāya śaśāsa vasudhām imām ||
Bhishma said: He had labored deeply in the Vedas, in the teachings on liberation, and in his own discipline of statecraft. Having brought his senses under firm control and gathered his mind into steadiness, he ruled this earth with self-mastery—showing that governance is grounded in learning, restraint, and inner discipline.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s authority should rest on disciplined learning (Veda, mokṣa-teachings, and statecraft) and on mastery over the senses; inner restraint is presented as the ethical foundation of effective governance.
Bhishma describes an exemplary king/administrator, emphasizing that he studied sacred knowledge and political science and, by concentrating and controlling his senses, successfully governed the earth.