Shloka 5
ब्राह्मणपूजा-राजधर्मः | Royal Duty of Honoring Learned Brahmins
भीष्म उवाच शृणु राजन् यथा राजा वीतहव्यो महायशा: । राजर्षिर्दिलभ प्राप्तो ब्राह्मण्यं लोकसत्कृतम्
bhīṣma uvāca | śṛṇu rājan yathā rājā vītahavyo mahāyaśāḥ | rājarṣir durlabha-prāpto brāhmaṇyaṁ loka-satkṛtam ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô roi, écoute. Je vais te raconter comment l’illustre roi-sage, le roi Vītahavya, obtint l’état de brahmane, rare et honoré de tous.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma introduces an example meant to illustrate that true spiritual and ethical attainment can confer honored status (here, brahminhood) beyond mere birth, and that society rightly venerates genuine virtue and realized conduct.
Bhishma addresses the king and begins a didactic story: he will explain how the famed royal sage King Vītahavya came to attain the rare, world-respected condition of brahminhood.