Shloka 27

Devanagari script

सर्वे धर्मा राजधर्मप्रधाना: सर्वे वर्णा: पाल्यमाना भवन्ति । सर्वस्त्यागो राजधर्मेषु राजं- स्त्यागं धर्म चाहुरग्र्यं पुराणम्‌,सभी धर्मोमें राजधर्म ही प्रधान है; क्योंकि उसके द्वारा सभी वर्णोका पालन होता है। राजन! राजधर्मोमें सभी प्रकारके त्यागका समावेश है और ऋषिगण त्यागको सर्वश्रेष्ठ एवं प्राचीन धर्म बताते हैं

Transliteration

sarve dharmā rājadharma-pradhānāḥ sarve varṇāḥ pālyamānā bhavanti | sarvas-tyāgo rājadharmeṣu rājan tyāgaṃ dharmaṃ cāhur agryaṃ purāṇam ||

Translation

Bhishma said: All forms of dharma are, in truth, grounded in the king’s dharma, for through it all the social orders are protected and sustained. O King, within the duties of rulership every kind of renunciation is included; and the sages declare renunciation to be the highest and most ancient dharma.

Word by Word

• {'sarve': 'all', 'dharmāḥ': 'duties

• dharmas', 'rājadharma-pradhānāḥ': 'having royal duty as the chief/primary (foundation)', 'varṇāḥ': 'social orders/classes (varṇas)', 'pālyamānāḥ': 'being protected, maintained, governed', 'bhavanti': 'come to be

• are (maintained)', 'sarvaḥ tyāgaḥ / sarvas-tyāgaḥ': 'all kinds of renunciation

• complete giving up (of selfishness/possessiveness)', 'rājadharmeṣu': 'in the duties of kingship

• in royal dharma', 'rājan': 'O King', 'tyāgam': 'renunciation

• relinquishment', 'dharmaṃ': 'as dharma

• a righteous principle', 'āhuḥ': 'they say

• they declare', 'agryam': 'foremost

• highest', 'purāṇam': 'ancient

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• the King (Yudhishthira, implied)
• rishis/sages (ṛṣayaḥ, implied by āhuḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that rājadharma (the ethical duties of rulership) is foundational because it safeguards society as a whole; and that true kingship must be rooted in tyāga—renunciation of selfish interest—since sages regard renunciation as the highest and most ancient form of dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on statecraft and moral governance after the war. Here he emphasizes that the king’s duty sustains all social orders and that the ruler must practice renunciation as an essential element of just rule.