Shloka 9
अहिंसा-आत्मौपम्य-उपदेशः | Instruction on Ahiṃsā and Self-Comparison Ethics
भरण्यां तु शिरो विद्यात् केशाना्द्रां नराधिप । समाप्ते तु घृतं दद्याद् ब्राह्मणे वेदपारगे
bharaṇyāṃ tu śiro vidyāt keśānārdraṃ narādhipa | samāpte tu ghṛtaṃ dadyād brāhmaṇe vedapārage ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô roi, sache que Bharaṇī est la “tête” et Ārdrā la “chevelure” (de la forme cosmique). Ayant ainsi assigné les nakṣatras aux membres et les ayant honorés par leurs mantras propres—en accomplissant chaque jour japa et homa—lorsque l’observance s’achève à la pleine lune, qu’on donne en aumône du ghee à un brāhmane parfaitement versé dans les Veda.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a dharmic pattern of observance: symbolic contemplation (mapping nakṣatras onto the body/cosmic form), disciplined daily worship with mantra-japa and homa, and concluding the vow with dāna—specifically, gifting ghee to a Veda-versed Brāhmaṇa—so that inner devotion is completed by outward generosity and support of sacred learning.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king on religious observances. Here he describes a specific ritual-visualization involving nakṣatras (Bharaṇī as the head, Ārdrā as the hair), followed by daily rites, and then prescribes a concluding full-moon donation of ghee to a learned Brāhmaṇa.