Shloka 12
अध्याय २०८ — इन्द्रियनिग्रहः, सत्याहिंसात्मकवाक्, कर्मफलविवेकः
Restraint of the Senses, Non-harming Truthful Speech, and Discernment of Karmic Consequence
एवं शतसहस्राणां शतं तस्य महात्मन: । पुत्राणां च न ते कंचिदिच्छन्त्यन्यं प्रजापतिम्
evaṁ śata-sahasrāṇāṁ śataṁ tasya mahātmanaḥ | putrāṇāṁ ca na te kaṁcid icchanty anyaṁ prajāpatiṁ ||
இவ்வாறு அந்த மகாத்ம அரசனுக்கு புதல்வர்கள் நூறு குழுக்கள் இருந்தன—ஒவ்வொரு குழுவிலும் ஒரு இலட்சம்; அவனுடைய சந்ததி அளவற்றது. மேலும் அந்தப் புதல்வர்கள் அவனைத் தவிர வேறு எந்தப் பிரஜாபதியையும் ஆண்டவனாக விரும்பவில்லை.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores dharmic legitimacy in rulership: when a ruler is recognized as a rightful ‘prajāpati’—a sustaining, generative authority—subjects (here, his vast progeny) do not seek alternative allegiance. Moral authority and social stability are presented as intertwined.
Bhīṣma is describing the extraordinary progeny of a great king (Śaśabindu in the surrounding account): his sons were so numerous that they are counted as ‘a hundred hundred-thousands,’ and they acknowledged no other ‘prajāpati’ than him.