Shloka 119
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
रुक््मं चापि महामेरु: स्वयं कनकपर्वतः । यक्षराक्षसभर्ता च भगवान् नरवाहनः:
rukmaṃ cāpi mahāmeruḥ svayaṃ kanakaparvataḥ | yakṣarākṣasabhartā ca bhagavān naravāhanaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “He is also the golden one; the great Meru itself, the mountain of gold in person; and the blessed Lord Naravāhana, overlord of the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that legitimate greatness is protective and order-sustaining: the praised Lord is likened to Meru (steadfast cosmic support) and to gold (radiant excellence), and is called the ruler of Yakshas and Rakshasas—signifying mastery over both wealth-guarding powers and potentially disruptive forces, a model for dharmic sovereignty.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhishma is speaking and offers a compact hymn-like description of a supreme figure, using grand epithets (Meru, golden mountain, lord of Yakshas and Rakshasas, Naravahana) to elevate the subject’s status and authority within the ongoing discourse on dharma and governance.