Shloka 16
नृशंस-लक्षणनिर्णयः | Determining the Marks of Cruel Conduct
Nṛśaṃsa
उक्ताक्ष ते राजधर्मा आपद्धर्माश्न भारत । विस्तरेण महाराज कि भूय: श्रोतुमिच्छसि,भरतनन्दन! महाराज! मैंने तुमसे राजधर्म और आपद्धर्मका विस्तारपूर्वक वर्णन किया है, अब और क्या सुनना चाहते हो
uktākṣa te rājadharmā āpaddharmāś ca bhārata | vistareṇa mahārāja kiṃ bhūyaḥ śrotum icchasi bharatanandana ||
Bhishma disse: “Ó Bharata, ó grande rei, expliquei-te em detalhe os deveres da realeza e os deveres a serem seguidos em tempos de calamidade. Agora, ó alegria dos Bharatas, que mais desejas ouvir?”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma signals completion of his detailed exposition on rājadharma (normative duties of rulership) and āpaddharma (emergency ethics), inviting the king to ask what further instruction is needed—highlighting that dharma includes both stable norms and carefully bounded exceptions for crises.
In the Shanti Parva teaching dialogue, Bhishma—lying on his bed of arrows—has been instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on governance and conduct. Here he pauses and asks what else Yudhiṣṭhira wishes to hear after the extended discussion of royal and emergency duties.