Shloka 58
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
केवल तुमने ही सौ यज्ञोंका अनुष्ठान किया हो, यह बात नहीं है। उन सभी राजाओंने सौ-सौ यज्ञ किये थे। सभी धर्मपरायण थे और सभी निरन्तर यज्ञमें संलग्न रहते थे। वे सभी आकाशमें विचरनेकी शक्ति रखते थे और युद्धमें शत्रुके सामने डटकर लोहा लेनेवाले थे ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | kevalaṁ tvayāiva śata-yajñānām anuṣṭhānaṁ kṛtam iti na | teṣāṁ sarveṣāṁ rājñāṁ śata-śata-yajñāḥ kṛtāḥ | sarve dharma-parāyaṇāḥ sarve ca nityaṁ yajñeṣu saṁlagnāḥ | sarve ākāśa-gamanāśaktimantaḥ sarve ca yuddhe śatru-sammukhe sthitvā lohaṁ gṛhṇantaḥ || sarve saṁhanana-upetāḥ sarve parigha-bāhavaḥ | sarve māyā-śata-dharāḥ sarve te kāma-rūpiṇaḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「百の祭祀を修したのは、そなた一人ではない。かの諸王もまた、百ごとに祭祀を行った。皆ダルマに帰依し、絶えず供犠の儀礼に身を捧げていた。天を行く力を備え、戦場では敵の前に揺るがず立ち、武勇を示した。皆、剛健なる体躯を具え、腕は鉄の棍棒のごとく太く強かった。さらに百種の幻術を操り、意のままに姿を変えることができたのだ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma counters pride in singular achievement: even extraordinary ritual merit (a hundred sacrifices) is not unique. True excellence is framed as sustained dharmic commitment—steadfastness in duty, continual sacrificial discipline, and courage in battle—rather than self-congratulation over one metric of merit.
Bhishma describes a class of earlier kings, emphasizing that many of them performed vast sacrificial rites and were both righteous and formidable. He highlights their martial steadfastness and even their extraordinary, quasi-divine capacities (sky-travel, magical arts, shape-shifting) to underscore the scale of past exemplars.