Shloka 33
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
त्रयी चान्वीक्षिकी चैव वार्ता च भरतर्षभ । दण्डनीतिश्न विपुला विद्यास्तत्र निदर्शिता:
trayī cānvīkṣikī caiva vārtā ca bharatarṣabha | daṇḍanītiś ca vipulā vidyās tatra nidarśitāḥ ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «Oh toro entre los Bharata, en ese tratado se exponen estas vastas ramas del saber: los tres Vedas, la investigación racional (indagación filosófica), la economía práctica (agricultura, cría de ganado y comercio) y la ciencia del gobierno y del castigo (arte de gobernar).»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma identifies the major disciplines a ruler (and society) should know: sacred learning (trayī), critical inquiry (ānvīkṣikī), material prosperity through productive economy (vārtā), and governance through law and policy (daṇḍanīti). Together they balance spiritual authority, rational discernment, wealth-creation, and just administration.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the Bharata prince on dharma and governance. Here he points to a referenced treatise/teaching in which these broad sciences are systematically explained, emphasizing the intellectual foundations of righteous rule.