Shloka 28
Chapter 78: Royal Responsibility for Wealth, Social Order, and the Protection of Dvijas
Kekaya Exemplum
गोब्राह्मणेभ्यो यज्ञेभ्यो नित्यं स्वस्त्ययनं मम । आशासते जना राष्ट्र मामकान्तरमाविश:
Bhīṣma uvāca: gobrāhmaṇebhyo yajñebhyo nityaṁ svastyayanaṁ mama | āśāsate janā rāṣṭre māmaka-antaraṁ āviśaḥ; kathaṁ tvaṁ mama śarīra-madhyaṁ praviṣṭaḥ? |
Bhishma dit : «Dans mon royaume, le peuple prie sans cesse pour une prospérité de bon augure en faveur des vaches, des brahmanes et des rites sacrificiels. Si de telles bénédictions sont invoquées continuellement, comment as-tu pu pénétrer jusqu’au plus profond de mon propre corps ?»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma links the welfare of a kingdom to reverence for cows, Brahmins, and yajñas—pillars of Vedic social and ritual order. The verse implies that sustained communal benedictions and dharmic institutions should create a protective moral atmosphere, making the presence of inner corruption or hostile intrusion seem paradoxical.
Bhishma, speaking in the Shanti Parva context of instruction and reflection, addresses an intruding presence (spoken to as “you”) and questions how it could have penetrated his very body when his realm’s people continually invoke auspicious blessings for sacred and stabilizing institutions like cattle, Brahmins, and sacrificial rites.