Shloka 80
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
ततस्तां भगवान् नीति पूर्व जग्राह शड्कर: । बहुरूपो विशालाक्ष: शिव: स्थाणुरुमापति:,तदनन्तर सबसे पहले भगवान् शड्करने इस नीतिशास्त्रको ग्रहण किया। वे बहुरूप, विशालाक्ष, शिव, स्थाणु, उमापति आदि नामोंसे प्रसिद्ध हैं
tatas tāṃ bhagavān nīti-pūrvaṃ jagrāha śaṅkaraḥ | bahurūpo viśālākṣaḥ śivaḥ sthāṇur umāpatiḥ ||
Then, foremost among the gods, Śaṅkara first received and adopted this teaching on polity and right conduct. He is renowned by many names—of manifold forms, wide-eyed, auspicious Śiva, the steadfast Sthāṇu, and Umāpati, the lord of Umā—signaling the divine authority behind this ethical and political doctrine.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the authority and sanctity of nīti—ethical governance and right conduct—by stating that even Śiva first accepted this doctrine, implying it is foundational, time-tested, and worthy of adherence by rulers and seekers of dharma.
Bhīṣma, while instructing on dharma and governance in the Śānti Parva, traces the transmission of a nīti-teaching and notes that Śaṅkara (Śiva), known by many epithets, was the first to receive it—establishing a divine pedigree for the instruction being conveyed.