Shloka 9
राज्ञोऽभिषेकः, अराजकदोषः, दण्डधारणस्य आवश्यकता
Royal Consecration, the Fault of Kinglessness, and the Necessity of Enforcement
लोकमुख्येषु सत्कारं लिज्ञलिमुख्येषु चासकृत् । कुर्वतस्तस्य कौन्तेय वन्याश्रमपदं भवेत्
lokamukhyeṣu satkāraṁ liṅgimukhyeṣu cāsakṛt | kurvatas tasya kaunteya vanyāśramapadaṁ bhavet ||
Bhishma dit : Ô fils de Kuntî, celui qui, à maintes reprises, rend honneur et offre une hospitalité respectueuse aux plus éminents du monde et aux ascètes les plus accomplis atteint la même dignité spirituelle et le même mérite que procure l’étape du vānaprastha, le « demeurant de la forêt ». L’enseignement est qu’une révérence sincère et continue envers les dignes—surtout les vertueux et les renonçants—peut donner les fruits de l’austérité même au cœur de la société.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Continual respectful honour (satkāra) offered to the truly worthy—especially eminent people of virtue and eminent ascetics—can confer the same merit and spiritual standing associated with the vānaprastha (forest-dweller) āśrama. Dharma is shown here as attainable through sustained reverence and service, not only through physical withdrawal to the forest.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct after the war. In this verse he explains that honoring leading virtuous persons and foremost renunciants repeatedly brings the fruits of the forest-ascetic stage, emphasizing social ethics and reverence as a path to spiritual gain.