Shloka 134

Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)

Devanagari script

महत्त्वेन च संयुक्तो वैष्णवेन नरो भुवि

Transliteration

mahattvena ca saṃyukto vaiṣṇavena naro bhuvi

Translation

Bhīṣma berkata: “Seorang manusia di bumi, apabila dikurniai kebesaran dan bersatu dengan semangat Vaiṣṇava (bhakti kepada Viṣṇu), benar-benar terangkat martabatnya—kedudukannya bukan diukur semata-mata oleh kuasa, tetapi oleh kemuliaan dharma yang dianugerahkan oleh ketakwaan dan keunggulan akhlak.”

Word by Word

• महत्त्वेन: by greatness
• महत्त्वेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत्त्व
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• संयुक्तः: endowed/connected
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-युज्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वैष्णवेन: with/through (that which is) Vaiṣṇava; devoted to Viṣṇu
• वैष्णवेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वैष्णव
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भुवि: on earth
• भुवि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Viṣṇu (implied by vaiṣṇava)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Greatness (mahattva) becomes ethically meaningful when it is joined to Vaiṣṇava dharma—devotion to Viṣṇu understood as a life of restraint, righteousness, and protection of beings. Power or status alone is incomplete; devotion and virtue refine it into true nobility.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. This line occurs within that didactic setting, where Bhīṣma characterizes the qualities that make a person (especially a ruler) truly great: moral excellence coupled with a Viṣṇu-centered, dharmic orientation.