Shloka 54
Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu
Gṛhastha-Vrata
यदि प्रमाणं धर्मस्ते गृहस्थाअ्रमसम्मत: । प्रदानेनात्मनो राज्ञि कर्तुमरहसि मे प्रियम्,“रानी! यदि तुम्हें गृहस्थसम्मत धर्म मान्य है तो मुझे अपना शरीर देकर मेरा प्रिय कार्य करना चाहिये”
yadi pramāṇaṃ dharmas te gṛhasthāśramasammataḥ | pradānenātmano rājñi kartum arhasi me priyam ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: «Oh reina, si tienes por autoridad el dharma aprobado para la etapa del cabeza de familia, entonces debes cumplir lo que me es grato ofreciendo tu propia persona como dádiva.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse appeals to an accepted ethical authority (pramāṇa) and argues that if one recognizes householder-dharma as binding, one should act accordingly—even when the requested act is personally difficult—framing duty as grounded in socially sanctioned norms.
Bhīṣma addresses a queen and urges her to perform an act that would please him, justifying the request by invoking the standards of gṛhastha-dharma and the principle of giving (pradāna), specifically the offering of one’s own person.