Shloka 4
आपद्धर्मे कोशबलन्यायः | Treasury, Force, and Crisis-Ethics for the King
'राजन्! जहाँ वह रमणीय बदरीका वृक्ष है, जहाँ वैहायस- कुण्ड है तथा जहाँ अश्वशिरा (हयग्रीव) सनातन वेदोंका पाठ करते हैं (वहीं नरनारायणाश्रम है) ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | rājan! yatra sā ramaṇīyā badarīkā vṛkṣaḥ, yatra vaihāyasa-kuṇḍaḥ, tathā yatra aśvaśirā (hayagrīvaḥ) sanātanān vedān pāṭhayati (tad eva naranārāyaṇāśramaḥ) || tasmin sarasi kṛtvāhaṃ vidhivat tarpaṇaṃ purā pitṝṇāṃ devatānāṃ ca tato ’śramam iyāṃ tadā ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Ó Rei, o eremitério de Nara e Nārāyaṇa fica ali—onde se ergue a formosa árvore Badarī, onde está o lago celeste chamado Vaihāyasa-kuṇḍa, e onde Aśvaśiras (Hayagrīva) recita os Vedas eternos. Nesse lago, outrora, cumpri devidamente o tarpana prescrito—oferta de água para satisfazer os ancestrais e os deuses; e então, naquele momento, segui para o eremitério.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma through disciplined sacred practice: honoring ancestors and gods via vidhivat tarpaṇa, and grounding spiritual pursuit in places and lineages associated with Vedic preservation (Hayagrīva’s recitation) and austere devotion (Nara–Nārāyaṇa).
Bhīṣma describes the location of Nara–Nārāyaṇa’s hermitage by naming its sacred markers (Badarī tree, Vaihāyasa-kuṇḍa, Hayagrīva’s Vedic recitation). He then recounts that he performed tarpaṇa in the lake for ancestors and gods and afterward went to the hermitage.