Shloka 9
राज्ञोऽभिषेकः, अराजकदोषः, दण्डधारणस्य आवश्यकता
Royal Consecration, the Fault of Kinglessness, and the Necessity of Enforcement
लोकमुख्येषु सत्कारं लिज्ञलिमुख्येषु चासकृत् । कुर्वतस्तस्य कौन्तेय वन्याश्रमपदं भवेत्
lokamukhyeṣu satkāraṁ liṅgimukhyeṣu cāsakṛt | kurvatas tasya kaunteya vanyāśramapadaṁ bhavet ||
Bhishma said: O son of Kunti, one who repeatedly shows honour and respectful hospitality to the foremost people of the world and to the foremost ascetics attains the same spiritual standing and merit that is gained through the forest-dweller’s stage of life (vānaprastha). The teaching is that sincere, continual reverence toward the worthy—especially the virtuous and renunciants—can yield the fruits of austere living even while one remains engaged in society.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Continual respectful honour (satkāra) offered to the truly worthy—especially eminent people of virtue and eminent ascetics—can confer the same merit and spiritual standing associated with the vānaprastha (forest-dweller) āśrama. Dharma is shown here as attainable through sustained reverence and service, not only through physical withdrawal to the forest.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct after the war. In this verse he explains that honoring leading virtuous persons and foremost renunciants repeatedly brings the fruits of the forest-ascetic stage, emphasizing social ethics and reverence as a path to spiritual gain.