Shloka 17
अश्वशिरो-आख्यानम्
Aśvaśiras / Hayaśiras Narrative: Retrieval of the Vedas
धर्मस्य कुलसंताने धमदिभिर्विवर्धित: । अहो हानुगृहीतो<द्य धर्म एभि: सुरैरिह
dharmasya kulasantāne dharmādibhir vivardhitaḥ | aho hānugṛhīto 'dya dharma ebhiḥ surair iha ||
Bhīṣma said: “In the unbroken succession of this lineage, Dharma—nurtured and strengthened by righteousness and allied virtues—has truly been upheld. Alas, today Dharma has been specially favored here by these gods.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is sustained not merely by inheritance but by continual cultivation of righteous qualities; when such virtues prevail, it is seen as divine support for moral order.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he reflects on Dharma being preserved and strengthened within a lineage and remarks that, in the present situation, the gods themselves appear to be favoring the triumph or establishment of Dharma.