Shloka 37
प्रजाविसर्ग-तत्त्वनिर्णयः | Cosmogony of Elemental Emergence
Bharadvāja–Bhṛgu Dialogue
नैतादशं ब्राह्मणस्यास्ति वित्त यथैकता समता सत्यता च | शीलं स्थितिर्दण्डनिधानमार्जवं ततस्ततश्षोपरम: क्रियाभ्य:
naitādaśaṃ brāhmaṇasyāsti vittaṃ yathaikatā samatā satyatā ca | śīlaṃ sthitir daṇḍanidhānam ārjavaṃ tatastataḥ śoparamaḥ kriyābhyaḥ ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Um brāhmaṇa não possui riqueza igual a esta—unidade de propósito, equanimidade e veracidade; boa conduta, firmeza, depor o bastão (renunciar à violência e à coerção) e retidão; e, repetidas vezes, o afastamento das ações mundanas. Estas são as verdadeiras riquezas que sustentam o seu dharma.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that a brāhmaṇa’s true wealth is not material property but inner virtues: single-mindedness, equanimity, truthfulness, good conduct, steadiness, non-coercion (laying down the rod), straightforwardness, and repeated withdrawal from worldly action.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he enumerates the qualities that constitute the real ‘treasure’ of a brāhmaṇa, emphasizing ethical restraint and inner discipline over external possessions.