Shloka 32

Devanagari script

यं हि वैद्या: कुले जाता ह्वृत्तिभयपीडिता: । प्राप्य तृप्ता: प्रतिष्ठन्ति धर्म:को5भ्यधिकस्तत:,जीवन-निर्वाहका कोई उपाय न होनेके कारण जो भयसे पीड़ित रहते हैं, ऐसे कुलीन एवं विद्वान्‌ पुरुष जिस राजाका आश्रय लेकर संतुष्ट हो प्रतिष्ठापूर्वक रहने लगते हैं, उस राजाके लिये इससे बढ़कर धर्मकी बात और क्या होगी?

Transliteration

yaṃ hi vaidyāḥ kule jātā vṛttibhaya-pīḍitāḥ | prāpya tṛptāḥ pratiṣṭhanti dharmo 'bhyadhikas tataḥ ||

Translation

Disse Bhishma: Quando homens eruditos e de nobre linhagem—médicos por herança—são afligidos pelo medo quanto ao seu sustento e, ao obterem a proteção de um rei, ficam satisfeitos e podem viver com dignidade e estabilidade, que ato de dharma poderia ser maior para esse rei do que este?

Word by Word

{'yaṃ''whom

that (king) whom', 'hi''indeed

for', 'vaidyāḥ''physicians

learned medical men', 'kule jātāḥ''born in a (good/noble) family

of reputable lineage', 'vṛtti''means of livelihood

subsistence', 'bhaya''fear

anxiety', 'pīḍitāḥ''afflicted

oppressed', 'prāpya''having reached/obtained

having taken refuge with', 'tṛptāḥ''satisfied

content', 'pratiṣṭhanti''stand firm

live with standing/respectability', 'dharmaḥ''righteous duty

moral merit', 'abhyadhikaḥ''greater

superior', 'tataḥ''than that

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

king (rājā, implied)

vaidyas (physicians)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A king’s highest dharma includes giving refuge and secure livelihood to worthy, learned people who are distressed—so they can live contentedly and with dignity.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on royal duty, Bhishma explains to the ruler that providing protection and stable support to well-born, learned physicians (and by extension other dependents/experts) is a supremely meritorious act of governance.