Shloka 9
अहिंसा-आत्मौपम्य-उपदेशः | Instruction on Ahiṃsā and Self-Comparison Ethics
भरण्यां तु शिरो विद्यात् केशाना्द्रां नराधिप । समाप्ते तु घृतं दद्याद् ब्राह्मणे वेदपारगे
bharaṇyāṃ tu śiro vidyāt keśānārdraṃ narādhipa | samāpte tu ghṛtaṃ dadyād brāhmaṇe vedapārage ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Ó rei, deve-se conhecer Bharaṇī como a ‘cabeça’ e Ārdrā como o ‘cabelo’ (da forma cósmica). Tendo assim atribuído as nakṣatras aos membros e venerando-as com seus respectivos mantras—realizando diariamente japa e homa—quando a observância se completar na lua cheia, deve-se dar ghee em caridade a um brāhmaṇa plenamente versado nos Vedas.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a dharmic pattern of observance: symbolic contemplation (mapping nakṣatras onto the body/cosmic form), disciplined daily worship with mantra-japa and homa, and concluding the vow with dāna—specifically, gifting ghee to a Veda-versed Brāhmaṇa—so that inner devotion is completed by outward generosity and support of sacred learning.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king on religious observances. Here he describes a specific ritual-visualization involving nakṣatras (Bharaṇī as the head, Ārdrā as the hair), followed by daily rites, and then prescribes a concluding full-moon donation of ghee to a learned Brāhmaṇa.