Shloka 51
श्मश्रुकर्मणि मड़ल्यं क्षुतानामभिनन्दनम् । व्याधितानां च सर्वेषामायुषामभिनन्दनम्
śmaśrukarmaṇi māṅgalyaṁ kṣutānām abhinandanam | vyādhitānāṁ ca sarveṣām āyuṣām abhinandanam ||
Bhishma berkata: “Ketika merapikan misai dan janggut, ucapkanlah kata-kata yang membawa tuah. Berkatilah orang yang bersin (misalnya, ‘semoga panjang umur’), dan sambutlah semua yang sakit dengan doa restu, mendoakan umur mereka dipanjangkan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches sadācāra: everyday acts should be accompanied by auspicious speech and compassionate benedictions—blessing a sneezer and wishing longevity to the sick—so that one’s conduct supports well-being and social harmony.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and proper conduct. Here he lists customary practices of polite, auspicious speech connected with grooming, sneezing, and illness.