Shloka 22
राज्ञोऽभिषेकः, अराजकदोषः, दण्डधारणस्य आवश्यकता
Royal Consecration, the Fault of Kinglessness, and the Necessity of Enforcement
चराचराणां भूतानां रक्षणं चापि सर्वश: । यथा्हपूजां च तथा कुर्वन् गा्हस्थ्यमावसेत्,चराचर प्राणियोंकी सब प्रकारसे रक्षा तथा उनकी यथायोग्य पूजा करनेवाले पुरुषको गार्हस्थ्य-सेवनका फल प्राप्त होता है
carācarāṇāṁ bhūtānāṁ rakṣaṇaṁ cāpi sarvaśaḥ | yathārhapūjāṁ ca tathā kurvan gārhasthyam āvaset ||
भीष्म ने कहा—जो चर और अचर समस्त प्राणियों की सब प्रकार से रक्षा करता है और उन्हें यथायोग्य मान-सम्मान तथा पूजा देता है, वह वास्तव में गृहस्थ-जीवन का आचरण करता है और गार्हस्थ्य-धर्म का फल प्राप्त करता है।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The true fruit of the householder life is gained not merely by maintaining a home, but by actively protecting all beings and honoring them appropriately—making one’s domestic life a moral support-system for the wider world.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira about righteous conduct. Here he defines gārhasthya in ethical terms: the householder sustains society through protection, care, and respectful treatment of all forms of life.