Shloka 21
Chapter 78: Royal Responsibility for Wealth, Social Order, and the Protection of Dvijas
Kekaya Exemplum
नासंविभज्य भोक्तास्मि नाविशामि परस्त्रियम् । स्वतन्त्रो जातु न क्रीडे मामकान्तरमाविश:
nāsaṃvibhajya bhoktāsmi nāviśāmi parastriyam | svatantrō jātu na krīḍe māmakāntaram āviśaḥ ||
नासंविभज्य भोक्तास्मि नाविशामि परस्त्रियम् । स्वतन्त्रो जातु न क्रीडे मामकान्तरमाविशः ॥ असंविभज्य न भुञ्जे, परस्त्रीं नोपसर्पामि; स्वेच्छाचारवशो जातु न क्रीडे—एते नियमाः मम अन्तः प्रविष्टाः।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches inner discipline as dharma: share resources before enjoying them oneself, avoid adultery (respect others’ marital bonds), and reject frivolous, self-willed indulgence—so that restraint becomes an ingrained inner habit.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma speaks in the first person, describing the personal ethical restraints that have shaped his conduct and become rooted in his inner nature.