Shloka 41
अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः
Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving
भीष्म उवाच एतदू वै सर्वमाख्यातं मुनिना सुमहात्मना । विदेहराजाय पुरा श्रेयसो<र्थे नराधिप,भीष्मजी कहते हैं--युधिष्ठिर! प्राचीनकालमें महात्मा पराशर मुनिने विदेहराज जनकके कल्याणके लिये यह सब उपदेश दिया था
bhīṣma uvāca | etad u vai sarvam ākhyātaṃ muninā sumahātmanā | videharājāya purā śreyaso 'rthe narādhipa |
ビーシュマは言った。「王よ、これら一切は、はるかな昔、大いなる魂をもつ聖仙が、ヴィデーハの王に、その最高の安寧のために余すところなく説き示したものである。ゆえに、私が汝に語るのは、君主の福利のために確立され、伝承されてきた教誨なのである。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma emphasizes that the counsel being delivered is not novel opinion but an authoritative, time-tested instruction originally taught by a great sage to King Janaka for his highest welfare (śreyas), underscoring the ethical weight of traditional dharma-teachings for rulers.
In the Shanti Parva dialogue, Bhishma continues advising King Yudhishthira and frames the preceding (or ongoing) discourse as a transmission of ancient wisdom: the sage Parashara once taught the same to Janaka of Videha for his good, and Bhishma now relays it to Yudhishthira.