Shloka 18
Chapter 78: Royal Responsibility for Wealth, Social Order, and the Protection of Dvijas
Kekaya Exemplum
कृपणानाथवृद्धानां दुर्बलातुरयोषिताम् । संविभक्तास्मि सर्वेषां मामकान्तरमाविश:
kṛpaṇānātha-vṛddhānāṁ durbalātura-yoṣitām | saṁvibhaktāsmi sarveṣāṁ māmakāntaram āviśaḥ ||
ਦੀਨ, ਅਨਾਥ, ਬੁੱਢੇ, ਕਮਜ਼ੋਰ, ਰੋਗੀ ਅਤੇ ਇਸਤ੍ਰੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਮੈਂ ਨਿੱਤ ਅੰਨ-ਵਸਤ੍ਰ, ਦਵਾਈ ਆਦਿਕ ਲੋੜੀਂਦੀਆਂ ਚੀਜ਼ਾਂ ਵੰਡਦਾ ਰਹਿੰਦਾ ਹਾਂ; ਫਿਰ ਵੀ ਤੂੰ ਮੇਰੇ ਅੰਦਰਲੇ ਅਸਤਿਤਵ ਵਿੱਚ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਦਾਖ਼ਲ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ?
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
External charity (giving food, clothing, medicine) is a major dharmic duty, yet Bhīṣma highlights that inner affliction can still arise; true righteousness requires both outward generosity and inward vigilance against subtle moral or spiritual ‘entry’—such as pride, negligence, or unseen fault.
In the Śānti discourse, Bhīṣma speaks as a moral instructor. Here he points to his ongoing support of vulnerable people and then questions how some troubling influence has nevertheless entered his own person—framing a reflective inquiry into the limits of outward good deeds and the need for inner discernment.