Shloka 117
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
त॑ साक्षात् पृथिवी भेजे रत्नान्यादाय पाण्डव
tāṁ sākṣāt pṛthivī bheje ratnāny ādāya pāṇḍava, pāṇḍunandana yudhiṣṭhira! tadā sākṣāt pṛthivī-devī ratnānāṁ bheṭaṁ gṛhītvā teṣāṁ sevāyām upasthitā āsīt. saritāṁ svāmī samudraḥ, parvateṣu śreṣṭho himavān tathā devarāja indraś ca akṣaya-dhanaṁ samarpitavān.
Disse Bhīṣma: “Ó Pāṇḍava, ó Yudhiṣṭhira, filho de Pāṇḍu! Então a própria Terra veio em pessoa, trazendo joias como oferenda e pondo-se pronta para servir. O Oceano, senhor dos rios, o Himālaya, o mais excelso entre as montanhas, e Indra, rei dos deuses, também apresentaram riquezas inesgotáveis.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Righteous rule aligned with dharma is portrayed as harmonizing the human and cosmic realms: when a king embodies dharma, even the powers of nature and the gods are said to support him with prosperity, symbolizing legitimacy, stability, and the ethical fruit of just governance.
Bhīṣma describes a moment when personified Earth arrives with jewels to serve/offer tribute, and other great cosmic entities—Ocean, Himālaya, and Indra—also present inexhaustible wealth, emphasizing the extraordinary support surrounding Yudhiṣṭhira (or a dharmic ruler) in that context.