Shloka 139
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
आगममश्न पुराणानां महर्षीणां च सम्भव: । तीर्थवंशश्व॒ वंशश्व नक्षत्राणां युधिष्ठिर,युधिष्ठिर! पुराणशास्त्र, महर्षियोंकी उत्पत्ति, तीर्थ-समूह, नक्षत्रसमुदाय, ब्रह्मचर्य आदि चार आश्रम, होता आदि चार प्रकारके ऋत्विजोंसे सम्पन्न होनेवाले यज्ञकर्म, चारों वर्ण और चारों विद्याओंका पूर्वोक्त नीतिशास्त्रमें प्रतिपादन किया गया है
āgamam aśna purāṇānāṁ maharṣīṇāṁ ca sambhavaḥ | tīrthavaṁśaś ca vaṁśaś ca nakṣatrāṇāṁ yudhiṣṭhira ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Wahai Yudhiṣṭhira, tradisi berwibawa Purāṇa, asal-usul para maharṣi, salasilah yang terkait dengan tempat-tempat ziarah suci (tīrtha), serta keturunan dan tertib gugusan bintang (nakṣatra)—semuanya telah dihuraikan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma underscores that dharma and nīti are supported by a broad sacred knowledge-system: authoritative tradition (āgama), Purāṇic memory, the exemplary origins of seers, the sanctity and lineages of tīrthas, and the cosmic ordering of nakṣatras. Ethical life and governance are thus linked to inherited wisdom and the structure of the world.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira after the war. Here he is listing domains of traditional knowledge that have been (or are being) expounded—Purāṇas, seer-origins, tīrtha traditions, and nakṣatra genealogies—framing the instruction as comprehensive and rooted in sacred precedent.