Shloka 11
राज्ञोऽभिषेकः, अराजकदोषः, दण्डधारणस्य आवश्यकता
Royal Consecration, the Fault of Kinglessness, and the Necessity of Enforcement
संविभागेन भूतानामतिथीनां तथार्चनात् । देवयज्जैश्व राजेन्द्र वन्याश्रमपदं भवेत्
saṁvibhāgena bhūtānām atithīnāṁ tathārcanāt | devayajñaiś ca rājendra vanyāśramapadaṁ bhavet ||
Bhishma berkata: “Wahai raja, dengan membagikan bagian yang semestinya kepada semua makhluk, dengan memuliakan para tamu, dan dengan melaksanakan persembahan yang wajib bagi para dewa, seseorang meraih buah rohani yang dikaitkan dengan tahap hidup penghuni rimba (vānaprastha).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That disciplined ethical duties—sharing resources with living beings, honoring guests, and performing divine offerings—can yield the same spiritual merit as the forest-dweller’s (vānaprastha) life, emphasizing that inner discipline and dharmic conduct matter as much as external renunciation.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhishma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he explains that certain household practices (distribution, hospitality, and devayajñas) confer the merit associated with the forest-āśrama, linking everyday obligations to higher spiritual attainment.