Shloka 27
Bhīṣmadeva’s Passing Away in the Presence of Lord Kṛṣṇa
दानधर्मान् राजधर्मान् मोक्षधर्मान् विभागश: । स्त्रीधर्मान् भगवद्धर्मान् समासव्यासयोगत: ॥ २७ ॥
dāna-dharmān rāja-dharmān mokṣa-dharmān vibhāgaśaḥ strī-dharmān bhagavad-dharmān samāsa-vyāsa-yogataḥ
ต่อจากนั้นท่านได้อธิบายเป็นหมวดหมู่ถึงธรรมะแห่งทาน ธรรมะแห่งกษัตริย์ และธรรมะแห่งโมกษะ แล้วจึงกล่าวถึงหน้าที่ของสตรีและธรรมะแห่งผู้ภักดีต่อพระภควาน ทั้งโดยสรุปและโดยพิสดาร
To give charity is one of the householder’s main functions, and he should be prepared to give in charity at least fifty percent of his hard-earned money. A brahmacārī, or student, should perform sacrifices, a householder should give charity, and a person in the retired life or in the renounced order should practice penances and austerities. Those are the general functions of all the āśramas, or orders of life on the path of self-realization. In the brahmacārī life the training is sufficiently imparted so that one may understand that the world as property belongs to the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead. No one, therefore, can claim to be the proprietor of anything in the world. Therefore, in the life of a householder, which is a sort of license for sex enjoyment, one must give in charity for the service of the Lord. Everyone’s energy is generated or borrowed from the reservoir of energy of the Lord; therefore, the resultant actions of such energy must be given to the Lord in the shape of transcendental loving service for Him. As the rivers draw water from the sea through the clouds and again go down to the sea, similarly our energy is borrowed from the supreme source, the Lord’s energy, and it must return to the Lord. That is the perfection of our energy. The Lord, therefore, in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.27) says that whatever we do, whatever we undergo as penance, whatever we sacrifice, whatever we eat or whatever we give in charity must be offered to Him (the Lord). That is the way of utilizing our borrowed energy. When our energy is utilized in that way, our energy is purified from the contamination of material inebrieties, and thus we become fit for our original natural life of service to the Lord.
FAQs
This verse notes that Bhishmadeva systematically taught rāja-dharma—royal duties and principles of governance—along with other dharmas, indicating that righteous rule is a defined, teachable aspect of Vedic dharma.
As Yudhishthira was about to rule, Bhishma instructed him broadly—covering charity, governance, liberation, household/social duties, and especially devotion—so the king could lead society according to dharma with Krishna at the center.
Practice responsible charity (dāna) with integrity and compassion, and align daily duties with devotion (bhagavad-dharma) by remembering the Lord, serving others, and making ethical choices as an offering to Krishna.