Shloka 66
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
मड़लालम्भनं चैव शरीरस्य प्रतिक्रिया । आहारयोजन चैव नित्यमास्तिक्यमेव च
maṇḍalālambhanaṃ caiva śarīrasya pratikriyā | āhārayojanaṃ caiva nityam āstikyam eva ca ||
Bhīṣma disse: “O tratado também descreve como sustentar e resguardar o próprio reino, o cuidado e o regime adequados do corpo, a provisão ordenada do alimento e a manutenção constante de uma disposição teísta, firmada na fé.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Good governance and personal well-being are both parts of dharma: one should uphold the stability of the realm, maintain proper bodily care and discipline, ensure orderly nourishment, and remain steadfast in āstikya—faith in dharma and the moral order.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on dharma and statecraft; here he notes that a guiding text/treatise includes practical topics ranging from political stability (maṇḍalālambhana) to health, food management, and sustained theistic conviction.