Shloka 9
अहिंसा-आत्मौपम्य-उपदेशः | Instruction on Ahiṃsā and Self-Comparison Ethics
भरण्यां तु शिरो विद्यात् केशाना्द्रां नराधिप । समाप्ते तु घृतं दद्याद् ब्राह्मणे वेदपारगे
bharaṇyāṃ tu śiro vidyāt keśānārdraṃ narādhipa | samāpte tu ghṛtaṃ dadyād brāhmaṇe vedapārage ||
भीष्म उवाच—नराधिप! भरणीं शिर इति विद्यात्, आर्द्रां केशान् (चन्द्रमसः) मन्येत्। एवं नक्षत्राणि अङ्गेषु विन्यस्य तत्तन्मन्त्रैः पूजयन् नित्यं जपहोमादीन् कुर्यात्। पौर्णमास्यां व्रतसमाप्तौ वेदपारगं ब्राह्मणं घृतं दद्यात्॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a dharmic pattern of observance: symbolic contemplation (mapping nakṣatras onto the body/cosmic form), disciplined daily worship with mantra-japa and homa, and concluding the vow with dāna—specifically, gifting ghee to a Veda-versed Brāhmaṇa—so that inner devotion is completed by outward generosity and support of sacred learning.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king on religious observances. Here he describes a specific ritual-visualization involving nakṣatras (Bharaṇī as the head, Ārdrā as the hair), followed by daily rites, and then prescribes a concluding full-moon donation of ghee to a learned Brāhmaṇa.