Shloka 162
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
योअप्यत्र परमो धर्म: पवित्र राजराज्ययो: । पृथिवी दक्षिणा यस्य सो<श्चवमेधेन युज्यते
yo 'py atra paramo dharmaḥ pavitraḥ rājarājyayoḥ | pṛthivī dakṣiṇā yasya so 'śvamedhena yujyate ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Même ici, le dharma le plus élevé et le plus purificateur pour les rois et leur souveraineté est ceci : celui pour qui la terre elle-même devient la dakṣiṇā (le don sacrificiel) est tenu pour avoir obtenu le mérite d’un Aśvamedha.»
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma elevates a particular royal duty as the supreme, purifying dharma for rulers: when a king’s righteous governance and rightful sovereignty are such that the very earth is treated as the dakṣiṇā (the defining royal gift/charge), he is regarded as gaining merit comparable to performing the Aśvamedha—signaling that ethical rule can equal or surpass grand ritual in spiritual value.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira about the highest standards of kingship. He frames an ideal of rule and sovereignty in ritual language, comparing the king’s dharmic attainment to the celebrated Aśvamedha sacrifice.