Shloka 63
Treasury Security, Protection of Informants, and the Kalakavṛkṣīya Exemplum (Śānti Parva 83)
वयं तु ब्राह्मणा नाम मृदुदण्डा: कृपालव: । स्वस्ति चेच्छाम भवत: परेषां च यथा55त्मन:
vayaṁ tu brāhmaṇā nāma mṛdu-daṇḍāḥ kṛpālavaḥ | svasti cecchāma bhavataḥ pareṣāṁ ca yathātmanā, mahārāja |
Bhishma berkata: “Kami para Brahmana, hukuman kami pada hakikatnya lembut dan hati kami penuh welas asih. Karena itu, wahai Maharaja, kami menghendaki kesejahteraanmu—dan kesejahteraan orang lain juga—sebagaimana kami menghendaki kesejahteraan diri kami sendiri.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma highlights the Brahmin ideal of gentle correction and compassion: true guidance seeks the welfare of the ruler and all beings, treating others’ good as one’s own.
In the Śānti Parva instruction, Bhishma addresses the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) and frames the Brahmins’ role as benevolent advisers—mild in punitive measures and motivated by universal welfare.