Shloka 17
ऋष्विम्भिब्रह्मकल्पैश्व भ्रातृभि: सह धर्मज: । आसाटद्य शरतल्पस्थमृषिभि: परिवारितम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
ṛṣvimbhi brahmakalpaiś ca bhrātṛbhiḥ saha dharmajaḥ |
āsādya śaratālpastham ṛṣibhiḥ parivāritam |
tad-anantaraṃ kuru-nandanaḥ dharmaputraḥ dharmarājaḥ yudhiṣṭhiraḥ brahmajīva sama-tejasvī ṛtvigbhiḥ bhrātṛbhiḥ tathā ṛṣibhiś ca ghṛtaḥ bāṇa-śayyāyāṃ śayānaṃ bharata-śreṣṭhaṃ gaṅgāputraṃ bhīṣmam etad uvāca ||
Disse Vaiśampāyana: Então Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira, filho de Dharma, acompanhado de seus irmãos e cercado por veneráveis sábios — homens de santidade semelhante à de Brahmā — aproximou-se de Bhīṣma, o melhor dos Bhāratas, filho do Gaṅgā, que jazia sobre seu leito de flechas. Em meio a sacerdotes, irmãos e ṛṣis, Yudhiṣṭhira, radiante como o próprio Brahmā, dirigiu-se a Bhīṣma desta maneira.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the ethical setting for instruction: a righteous king (Yudhiṣṭhira) approaches a dying elder (Bhīṣma) in the presence of sages and priests, signaling that dharma is to be learned through humility, proper counsel, and authoritative tradition—especially after the moral trauma of war.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira, with his brothers and accompanied by ṛṣis and priests, goes to Bhīṣma who lies on the arrow-bed, and then begins to speak to him—introducing the forthcoming discourse of Anuśāsana (instruction) delivered by Bhīṣma.