Shloka 20
Śakra–Śambara Saṃvāda: Brāhmaṇa-sevā, Anasūyā, and Vāg-bala (शक्रशम्बरसंवादः)
ब्राह्मणा यं प्रशंसन्ति पुरुष: स प्रवर्धते । ब्राह्मणैर्य: पराकृष्ट: पराभूयात् क्षणाद्धि सः
brāhmaṇā yaṁ praśaṁsanti puruṣaḥ sa pravardhate | brāhmaṇair yaḥ parākṛṣṭaḥ parābhūyāt kṣaṇād dhi saḥ ||
ब्राह्मणा यं प्रशंसन्ति पुरुषः स प्रवर्धते । ब्राह्मणैर्यः पराकृष्टः पराभूयात् क्षणाद्धि सः ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A person’s rise or ruin is closely tied to their relationship with dharma-bearing counsel: earning the approval of the learned through right conduct leads to prosperity, while incurring their censure through adharma brings swift downfall.
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira in the Anushasana Parva, he emphasizes the traditional moral and social power attributed to Brahmins—praise as a sign of dharmic approval and condemnation as a force that precipitates immediate defeat.