Shloka 15
राज्ञोऽभिषेकः, अराजकदोषः, दण्डधारणस्य आवश्यकता
Royal Consecration, the Fault of Kinglessness, and the Necessity of Enforcement
आह्रिकं जपमानस्य देवान् पूजयत: सदा । धर्मेण पुरुषव्याप्र धर्माश्रमपदं भवेत्
āhrikaṃ japamānasya devān pūjayataḥ sadā | dharmeṇa puruṣavyāpta dharmāśramapadaṃ bhavet, puruṣasiṃha! |
Bhīṣma dijo: «Oh león entre los hombres, quien cada día cumple los ritos prescritos y recita mantras sagrados, y quien adora continuamente a los dioses, alcanza—por el poder de ese dharma—la condición meritoria de mantener debidamente el āśrama del dharma, es decir, el camino del cabeza de familia (gārhastha).»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Regular performance of daily obligatory rites, mantra-recitation (japa), and worship of the gods generates dharmic merit that is equivalent to (or establishes one in) the proper fulfillment of the householder’s āśrama-duties.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the listener on dharma after the war, emphasizing disciplined daily religious practice as a foundation for ethical life and for attaining the recognized merit of the gārhasthya (householder) stage.