Shloka 15
राज्ञोऽभिषेकः, अराजकदोषः, दण्डधारणस्य आवश्यकता
Royal Consecration, the Fault of Kinglessness, and the Necessity of Enforcement
आह्रिकं जपमानस्य देवान् पूजयत: सदा । धर्मेण पुरुषव्याप्र धर्माश्रमपदं भवेत्
āhrikaṃ japamānasya devān pūjayataḥ sadā | dharmeṇa puruṣavyāpta dharmāśramapadaṃ bhavet, puruṣasiṃha! |
Bhīṣma said: “O lion among men, one who daily performs the prescribed rites and recites sacred mantras, and who continually worships the gods, attains—by the power of that dharma—the meritorious standing of properly maintaining the duties of the āśrama of dharma, namely the householder’s way of life.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Regular performance of daily obligatory rites, mantra-recitation (japa), and worship of the gods generates dharmic merit that is equivalent to (or establishes one in) the proper fulfillment of the householder’s āśrama-duties.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the listener on dharma after the war, emphasizing disciplined daily religious practice as a foundation for ethical life and for attaining the recognized merit of the gārhasthya (householder) stage.