Shloka 117
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
त॑ साक्षात् पृथिवी भेजे रत्नान्यादाय पाण्डव
tāṁ sākṣāt pṛthivī bheje ratnāny ādāya pāṇḍava, pāṇḍunandana yudhiṣṭhira! tadā sākṣāt pṛthivī-devī ratnānāṁ bheṭaṁ gṛhītvā teṣāṁ sevāyām upasthitā āsīt. saritāṁ svāmī samudraḥ, parvateṣu śreṣṭho himavān tathā devarāja indraś ca akṣaya-dhanaṁ samarpitavān.
Bhishma berkata: “Wahai Pāṇḍava, wahai Yudhiṣṭhira putera Pāṇḍu! Pada ketika itu, Bumi sendiri hadir sebagai dewi, membawa permata sebagai persembahan dan berdiri sedia untuk berkhidmat. Samudera, penghulu segala sungai; Himālaya, yang utama antara gunung-ganang; dan Indra, raja para dewa, turut mempersembahkan kekayaan yang tidak habis-habis.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Righteous rule aligned with dharma is portrayed as harmonizing the human and cosmic realms: when a king embodies dharma, even the powers of nature and the gods are said to support him with prosperity, symbolizing legitimacy, stability, and the ethical fruit of just governance.
Bhīṣma describes a moment when personified Earth arrives with jewels to serve/offer tribute, and other great cosmic entities—Ocean, Himālaya, and Indra—also present inexhaustible wealth, emphasizing the extraordinary support surrounding Yudhiṣṭhira (or a dharmic ruler) in that context.