Shloka 24
तस्माद् ब्रह्मणि शाम्यन्ति क्षत्रियाणां युधिष्ठिर । समुदीर्णान्यजेयानि तेजांसि च बलानि च,युधिष्ठिर! यद्यपि क्षत्रियोंके तेज और बल प्रचण्ड और अजेय होते हैं, तथापि ब्राह्मणसे टक्कर लेनेपर शान्त हो जाते हैं
tasmād brahmaṇi śāmyanti kṣatriyāṇāṃ yudhiṣṭhira | samudīrṇāny ajeyāni tejāṃsi ca balāni ca ||
Bhīṣma said: “Therefore, O Yudhiṣṭhira, the blazing energies and the mighty strengths of kṣatriyas—though roused to their height and seemingly unconquerable—are pacified when they come up against brahman, the spiritual authority embodied by the brāhmaṇa.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Martial might (tejas and bala) is not the highest authority; it must yield to brahman—spiritual discipline, learning, and dharmic restraint—so that power is governed rather than unchecked.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and governance, Bhīṣma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira, explaining that even the fiercest kṣatriya power becomes subdued when it confronts the superior moral-spiritual force associated with brahman/brāhmaṇas.