Shloka 10
Chapter 78: Royal Responsibility for Wealth, Social Order, and the Protection of Dvijas
Kekaya Exemplum
नानाप्रदक्षिणैर्यज्ैर्यजन्ते विषये मम । नाधीते नाव्रती कश्षिन्मामकान्तरमाविश:,मेरे राज्यमें समस्त द्विज नाना प्रकारकी उत्तम दक्षिणाओंसे युक्त यज्ञोंका अनुष्ठान करते हैं। कोई भी ब्रह्मचर्यव्रतका पालन किये बिना वेदोंका अध्ययन नहीं करता। फिर भी मेरे शरीरके भीतर तुम्हारा प्रवेश कैसे हुआ?
nānā-pradakṣiṇair yajñair yajante viṣaye mama | nādhīte nāvratī kaścin māmaka-antaraṃ āviśaḥ | mere rājyameṃ samasta dvija nānā prakārakī uttama dakṣiṇāoṃ se yukta yajñoṃ kā anuṣṭhāna karate haiṃ | koī bhī brahmacarya-vrata kā pālana kiye binā vedoṃ kā adhyayana nahīṃ karatā | phira bhī mere śarīra ke bhītara tumhārā praveśa kaise huā? |
“In my realm, the twice-born perform sacrifices of many kinds, each accompanied by proper circumambulations and excellent gifts. No one studies the Veda without observing the vows of disciplined conduct. Even so, how have you found entry into my very body?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
External religiosity—sacrifices, gifts, and even formal Vedic study—does not automatically guarantee inner purity or protection from subtle moral/spiritual intrusion. The verse highlights the ethical demand for integrity that reaches beyond ritual correctness into the inner life.
Bhishma, speaking in the Shanti Parva, expresses astonishment: although his kingdom is portrayed as properly ordered—Brahmins performing well-endowed sacrifices and observing vows before studying the Veda—some troubling influence or presence has nevertheless entered within him. He questions how such an entry was possible despite outward adherence to dharma.