Shloka 111
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
मन्त्रिणो वालखिल्याश्ष सारस्वत्यो गणस्तथा । महर्षिर्भगवान् गर्गस्तस्य सांवत्सरो5भवत्
mantriṇo vālakhilyāś ca sārasvatyo gaṇas tathā | maharṣir bhagavān gargas tasya sāṁvatsaro 'bhavat ||
Dijo Bhishma: «Los sabios Vālakhilya, y asimismo el grupo de sabios que moraba en las riberas del Sarasvatī, sirvieron como sus ministros. El venerable gran rishi Garga se convirtió en su sāṁvatsara: el astrólogo de la corte y el calculador del año».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Righteous governance is strengthened when a ruler relies on disciplined, learned sages for counsel and on competent experts (such as a jyotiṣa authority) for orderly regulation of time and ritual—showing that dharma in public life depends on wise advisors and proper institutions.
Bhishma describes the composition of a ruler’s court: the Vālakhilyas and the Sarasvatī-bank sages function as ministers, while the revered seer Garga serves as the court’s annual time-reckoner/astrologer (sāṁvatsara).