Shloka 117
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
त॑ साक्षात् पृथिवी भेजे रत्नान्यादाय पाण्डव
tāṁ sākṣāt pṛthivī bheje ratnāny ādāya pāṇḍava, pāṇḍunandana yudhiṣṭhira! tadā sākṣāt pṛthivī-devī ratnānāṁ bheṭaṁ gṛhītvā teṣāṁ sevāyām upasthitā āsīt. saritāṁ svāmī samudraḥ, parvateṣu śreṣṭho himavān tathā devarāja indraś ca akṣaya-dhanaṁ samarpitavān.
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô Pāṇḍava, ô Yudhiṣṭhira, fils de Pāṇḍu ! Alors la Terre elle-même se présenta en personne, apportant des joyaux en offrande et se tenant prête au service. L’Océan, seigneur des rivières, l’Himālaya, le premier des monts, et Indra, roi des dieux, offrirent pareillement des richesses inépuisables.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Righteous rule aligned with dharma is portrayed as harmonizing the human and cosmic realms: when a king embodies dharma, even the powers of nature and the gods are said to support him with prosperity, symbolizing legitimacy, stability, and the ethical fruit of just governance.
Bhīṣma describes a moment when personified Earth arrives with jewels to serve/offer tribute, and other great cosmic entities—Ocean, Himālaya, and Indra—also present inexhaustible wealth, emphasizing the extraordinary support surrounding Yudhiṣṭhira (or a dharmic ruler) in that context.