Shloka 6
अध्याय ३२३ — श्वेतद्वीपगमनम्, यज्ञभाग-विवादः, एकान्तिभक्त्या नारायणदर्शन-नियमः (Śvetadvīpa Journey; Dispute over Sacrificial Share; Rule of Nārāyaṇa-vision through Single-minded Devotion)
पितामह! आप मुझे शुकदेवजीका माहात्म्य, आत्मयोग और विज्ञान यथार्थ रीतिसे क्रमश: बताइये ।। भीष्म उवाच न हायनैर्न पलितैर्न वित्तैर्न च बन्धुभि: । ऋषयश्षक्रिरे धर्म योडनूचान: स नो महान्,भीष्मजीने कहा--राजन्! कोई अधिक वर्षोकी अवस्था हो जानेसे, बाल पक जानेसे, अधिक धन होनेसे तथा भाई-बन्धुओंकी संख्या बढ़ जानेसे भी बड़ा नहीं होता। ऋषियोंने यह नियम बनाया है कि हमलोगोंमेंसे जो वेदोंका प्रवचन कर सकेगा, वही महान् माना जायगा
Bhīṣma uvāca: Na hāyanaiḥ na palitaiḥ na vittaiḥ na ca bandhubhiḥ | Ṛṣayaḥ cakrire dharmaṃ yo ’nūcānaḥ sa no mahān ||
Bhishma said: “A person does not become ‘great’ merely by advanced age, by grey hair, by wealth, or by the strength of relatives and allies. The sages established this rule of dharma among us: whoever is truly learned—able to recite and teach the Veda—he alone is to be regarded as great.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True greatness is measured by learning and the capacity to transmit sacred knowledge (Vedic study/teaching), not by external markers like age, grey hair, wealth, or family power.
In the Shanti Parva dialogue, Bhishma instructs the king by stating a standard set by the sages: social eminence should rest on genuine learning and dharmic qualification rather than worldly status.