Shloka 123
Kṣātra-Dharma, Daṇḍanīti, and Social Order
Indra–Māndhātṛ Dialogue
अनादिमध्यनिधन देवं नारायण प्रभुम् राजेन्द्र! उन्हीं दिनों मान्धाता नामसे प्रसिद्ध एक पराक्रमी पृथ्वीपालक नरेश हुए थे, जिन्होंने आदि, मध्य और अन्तसे रहित भगवान् नारायणदेवका दर्शन पानेकी इच्छासे एक यज्ञका अनुष्ठान किया
anādimadhyanidhanaṁ devaṁ nārāyaṇaṁ prabhum | rājendra! teṣu dineṣu māndhātā nāma prasiddhaḥ ekaḥ parākramaḥ pṛthvīpālako nareśo 'bhavat | sa ādi-madhya-antarahitaṁ bhagavantaṁ nārāyaṇadevaṁ draṣṭum icchayā ekaṁ yajñaṁ samājahāra/anutiṣṭhat |
Bhishma berkata: “Wahai raja di antara para raja, Tuhan Narayana adalah penguasa ilahi—tanpa awal, tanpa tengah, tanpa akhir. Pada masa itu hiduplah seorang raja besar, pelindung bumi, yang termasyhur bernama Mandhata. Demi mendambakan darśana Tuhan Narayana—yang melampaui asal, keberlangsungan, dan peleburan—ia melaksanakan sebuah yajña.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames devotion and righteous effort as a kingly ideal: a powerful ruler seeks not merely worldly success but the direct vision of the eternal Lord (Narayana), using sanctioned dharmic means (yajña). It emphasizes God’s transcendence (beyond beginning, middle, and end) and the ethical orientation of rulership toward spiritual aims.
Bhishma, instructing the king (Yudhisthira), introduces an earlier exemplar—King Mandhata—who, desiring to behold Narayana, undertakes a sacrificial rite. This sets up a didactic story about devotion, ritual discipline, and the spiritual aspirations appropriate to a righteous monarch.