Shloka 14
भीष्म उवाच दानेन तपसा यज्ञैरद्रोहेण दमेन च । ब्राह्मणप्रमुखा वर्णा: क्षेममिच्छेयुरात्मन:
bhīṣma uvāca dānena tapasā yajñair adroheṇa damena ca | brāhmaṇa-pramukhā varṇāḥ kṣemam iccheyur ātmanaḥ ||
ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ദാനം, തപസ്സ്, യജ്ഞങ്ങൾ, അദ്രോഹം (വൈരരഹിതത്വം), ഇന്ദ്രിയസംയമം എന്നിവയാൽ ബ്രാഹ്മണപ്രമുഖമായ എല്ലാ വർണങ്ങളും തങ്ങളുടെ ക്ഷേമവും സുരക്ഷയും ആഗ്രഹിക്കണം।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that true welfare (kṣema) is secured through a cluster of dharmic disciplines—charity, austerity, sacrificial duty, freedom from malice, and self-restraint. These are presented as practical means for both personal stability and social harmony.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on righteous conduct after the war. Here he lays down a normative guideline for the varṇas, especially under Brahmana leadership, to pursue peace and well-being through ethical and religious practices rather than hostility.