Shloka 33

Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)

Devanagari script

त्रयी चान्वीक्षिकी चैव वार्ता च भरतर्षभ । दण्डनीतिश्न विपुला विद्यास्तत्र निदर्शिता:,भरतश्रेष्ठ! उस ग्रन्थमें वेदत्रयी (कर्मकाण्ड), आन्वीक्षिकी (ज्ञानकाण्ड), वार्ता (कृषि, गोरक्षा और वाणिज्य) और दण्डनीति--इन विपुल विद्याओंका निरूपण किया गया है

Transliteration

trayī cānvīkṣikī caiva vārtā ca bharatarṣabha | daṇḍanītiś ca vipulā vidyās tatra nidarśitāḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «Ô taureau parmi les Bharata, dans ce traité sont exposées ces vastes branches du savoir : les trois Veda, l’enquête rationnelle (investigation philosophique), l’économie pratique (agriculture, élevage des bovins et commerce) et la science du gouvernement et du châtiment (l’art de l’État).»

Word by Word

त्रयीthe triad (of Vedas)

चand

आन्वीक्षिकीinquiry/logic (ānvīkṣikī)

चand

एवindeed/also

वार्ताeconomics; livelihood (agriculture, cattle-rearing, trade)

चand

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas

दण्डनीतिःpolicy of punishment; political science

चand

विपुलाःextensive, abundant

विद्याःsciences/branches of knowledge

तत्रthere/in that (treatise)

निदर्शिताःhave been set forth/expounded

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Bharata (lineage addressed as bharatarṣabha)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma identifies the major disciplines a ruler (and society) should know: sacred learning (trayī), critical inquiry (ānvīkṣikī), material prosperity through productive economy (vārtā), and governance through law and policy (daṇḍanīti). Together they balance spiritual authority, rational discernment, wealth-creation, and just administration.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the Bharata prince on dharma and governance. Here he points to a referenced treatise/teaching in which these broad sciences are systematically explained, emphasizing the intellectual foundations of righteous rule.