Shloka 7
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
बलिवासवसंवादं पुनरेव युधिष्ठिर । यथिष्ठिर! इस विषयमें पुन: बलि और इन्द्रके संवादरूप इस प्राचीन इतिहासका उदाहरण दिया जाता है ।। वृत्ते देवासुरे युद्धे दैत्यदानवसंक्षये
balivāsavasaṃvādaṃ punar eva yudhiṣṭhira | yathāsthira! asmin viṣaye punaḥ bali-indrayoḥ saṃvādarūpaḥ prācīna itihāsasya udāharaṇaṃ dīyate || vṛtte devāsure yuddhe daityadānavasaṃkṣaye ||
Bhīṣma dit : « Ô Yudhiṣṭhira, je redirai encore une fois l’antique dialogue entre Bali et Vāsava (Indra). À ce propos, on cite un vieil exemple de l’histoire sous la forme de leur entretien—au temps où la guerre entre les dieux et les asura avait eu lieu, et où les Daitya et les Dānava étaient en voie d’être détruits. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma frames moral instruction through an ancient precedent: ethical and political guidance is best grounded in remembered exemplars (itihāsa), here introduced via the dialogue of Bali and Indra, arising from a crisis of war and downfall.
Bhīṣma tells Yudhiṣṭhira that he will recount an old story—specifically the conversation between Bali and Indra—situated in the aftermath of the devas’ and asuras’ war, when the Daityas and Dānavas were being annihilated.