Shloka 7
Adhyāya 90 — Protection of Livelihoods, Brahmanical Subsistence Norms, and Royal Oversight (राष्ट्रवृत्ति-राष्ट्रगुप्ति-उपदेशः)
कृषिगोरक्ष्यवाणिज्यं लोकानामिह जीवनम् | ऊर्ध्व॑ चैव त्रयी विद्या सा भूतान् भावयत्युत
bhīṣma uvāca |
kṛṣigorakṣyavāṇijyaṁ lokānām iha jīvanam |
ūrdhvaṁ caiva trayī vidyā sā bhūtān bhāvayaty uta ||
भीष्म ने कहा—“खेती, गो-रक्षा और वाणिज्य—ये इस लोक में लोगों की जीविका के साधन हैं। पर त्रयी विद्या—तीनों वेद—ऊर्ध्व लोकों में भी रक्षा करते हैं; और यज्ञों के द्वारा समस्त प्राणियों का पोषण और संवर्धन करते हैं।”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly society is sustained by practical livelihoods (farming, cattle-rearing, trade), while the Vedic tradition—especially as expressed through yajña—supports welfare beyond this life and is presented as a cosmic principle that nourishes all beings.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction to the king, Bhishma explains the complementary roles of economic activity and sacred knowledge: material occupations maintain life here, while Vedic rites and learning are portrayed as sustaining order and prosperity in both this world and higher realms.