Shloka 56
ब्राह्मणपूजा-राजधर्मः | Royal Duty of Honoring Learned Brahmins
त्याजितो हि मया जातिमेष राजा भृगूद्धह | ततस्तेनाभ्यनुज्ञातो ययौ राजा प्रतर्दन:
tyājito hi mayā jātim eṣa rājā bhṛgūddhaha | tatas tenābhyanujñāto yayau rājā pratardanaḥ ||
Bhishma disse: “De fato, eu compelira este rei—Pratardana, o mais eminente entre os Bhṛgu—a renunciar à sua identidade de casta. Depois, tendo recebido dele a permissão, o rei Pratardana partiu.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between birth-based identity (jāti) and conduct/discipline: a respected figure (Bhīṣma, in narration) can compel a ruler to relinquish attachment to social identity, implying that dharma may demand transcending mere birth-status when higher moral or spiritual aims are at stake.
Bhīṣma recounts that he caused King Pratardana—praised as eminent among the Bhṛgus—to give up his jāti-identity. After this act, Pratardana receives permission (abhyanujñā) and then departs, indicating the close of an instruction/disciplinary episode.