Shloka 37
चित्रभानुमनड्वाहं देवं गोष्ठं चतुष्पथम् । ब्राह्मणं धार्मिकं वृद्ध ये कुर्वन्ति प्रदक्षिणम्
citrabhānum anaḍvāhaṃ devaṃ goṣṭhaṃ catuṣpatham | brāhmaṇaṃ dhārmikaṃ vṛddhaṃ ye kurvanti pradakṣiṇam ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Aqueles que, por reverência, mantêm à sua direita (como numa pradakṣiṇā) o fogo sagrado, um touro, os deuses, o curral, a encruzilhada, um brâmane, um homem justo e um ancião—esses são contados entre os virtuosos. O ensinamento mostra o dharma como etiqueta vivida: honrar, com humildade protetora, aquilo que sustenta a sociedade e a vida espiritual.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is expressed through everyday reverence: one should honor sacred and socially sustaining beings/places—fire, cattle, deities, Brahmins, the righteous, and elders—by respectful right-sided passing/circumambulation, cultivating humility and protection of the vulnerable.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on righteous conduct. Here he lists who should be treated with special respect in public movement and ritual etiquette, marking such behavior as a sign of a truly virtuous person.