Shloka 7
आपद्धर्मे कोशबलन्यायः | Treasury, Force, and Crisis-Ethics for the King
अन्यैनरिरमहाबाहो वपुषाष्टगुणान्वितम् । कृशता चापि राजर्षे न दृष्टा तादृशी क्वचित्,महाबाहो! उन महर्षिका शरीर दूसरे मनुष्योंसे आठ गुना लंबा था। राजर्षे! मैंने उनकी- जैसी दुर्बलता कहीं भी नहीं देखी है
anyair nara-mahābāho vapuṣāṣṭa-guṇānvitam | kṛśatā cāpi rājarṣe na dṛṣṭā tādṛśī kvacit ||
ભીષ્મે કહ્યું—મહાબાહો! તે મહર્ષિનું શરીર અન્ય મનુષ્યો કરતાં આઠ ગણું ઊંચું હતું. રાજર્ષે! તેમની જેવી અતિશય કૃશતા મેં ક્યાંય જોઈ નથી.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the paradox often associated with intense tapas: extraordinary spiritual power or exceptional traits may coexist with severe bodily austerity. It cautions the listener to recognize ascetic discipline and its effects, and to evaluate virtue not by outward comfort but by inner resolve and dharmic purpose.
Bhishma, instructing the king, describes a great sage he has encountered or heard of. He emphasizes two striking features—an unusually immense bodily stature and an unmatched degree of emaciation—setting up a larger discussion on ascetic practice, its consequences, and the moral lessons a ruler should draw from such exemplars.