Shloka 149
ज्येष्ठ-कनिष्ठ-धर्मः — Duties of Elders and Juniors
Anuśāsana-parva 108
महात्मनां च चरितं श्रोतव्यं॑ नित्यमेव ते । नरेश्वर! गान्धर्वशास्त्र (संगीत) और समस्त कलाओंका ज्ञान प्राप्त करना भी तुम्हारे लिये आवश्यक है। तुम्हें प्रतेदिन पुराण, इतिहास, उपाख्यान तथा महात्माओंके चरित्रका श्रवण करना चाहिये ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | mahātmanāṃ ca caritaṃ śrotavyaṃ nityam eva te | nareśvara | mānyānāṃ mānanaṃ kuryān nindyānāṃ nindanaṃ tathā | gobrāhmaṇārthaṃ yudhyet prāṇān api parityajet | patnī rajasvalā yā ca nābhigacchen na cāhvayet | caturthe ’hani sā snātvā rātrau gacched budhaḥ pumān | pañcame garbhadhānāt tu kanyā syāt ṣaṣṭhe tu putrakaḥ | samarātrau garbhadhānāt putraḥ syād viṣamarātrau kanyā ||
ビーシュマは言った。「王よ、汝は常に大いなる魂をもつ者たちの事績を聴くべきである。敬うべき者を敬い、責むべき者を責めよ。牛と婆羅門のためには戦え――命を捨てるに至ろうとも。妻が月の穢れの時には、近づいてはならず、また呼び寄せてもならぬ。第四日に沐浴を終えたのち、賢き者は夜に近づいてよい。第五日に宿せば娘、第六日に宿せば子と説かれる。さらに、偶数の夜の宿しは子を、奇数の夜の宿しは娘をもたらすと教えられている。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king should cultivate dharma through regular hearing of exemplary lives, uphold social-ethical order by honoring the worthy and censuring the blameworthy, and be ready to sacrifice for the protection of cows and Brahmins; alongside this, household discipline is taught through rules of conduct regarding the wife’s menstrual period and traditional notions about timing of conception.
In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma continues advising the king on proper royal and domestic conduct: he prescribes daily listening to purāṇa/itihāsa-style narratives and lays down norms for public duty (protection, warfare for righteous causes) and private life (sexual restraint during menstruation and timing-related beliefs about conception).