Shloka 9
राज्ञोऽभिषेकः, अराजकदोषः, दण्डधारणस्य आवश्यकता
Royal Consecration, the Fault of Kinglessness, and the Necessity of Enforcement
लोकमुख्येषु सत्कारं लिज्ञलिमुख्येषु चासकृत् । कुर्वतस्तस्य कौन्तेय वन्याश्रमपदं भवेत्,कुन्तीनन्दन! जो जगतके श्रेष्ठ पुरुषों और आश्रमियोंका निरन्तर सत्कार करता है, उसे भी वानप्रस्थ-आश्रमद्वारा मिलनेवाले फलोंकी प्राप्ति होती है
lokamukhyeṣu satkāraṁ liṅgimukhyeṣu cāsakṛt | kurvatas tasya kaunteya vanyāśramapadaṁ bhavet ||
ภีษมะกล่าวว่า—โอ โอรสแห่งกุนตี ผู้ใดถวายเกียรติและต้อนรับด้วยความเคารพอยู่เนืองนิตย์ แก่บุคคลผู้ประเสริฐแห่งโลกและแก่นักบวชผู้เลิศ ผู้นั้นย่อมได้ฐานะและผลบุญดังที่ได้จากวานปรস্থอาศรม
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Continual respectful honour (satkāra) offered to the truly worthy—especially eminent people of virtue and eminent ascetics—can confer the same merit and spiritual standing associated with the vānaprastha (forest-dweller) āśrama. Dharma is shown here as attainable through sustained reverence and service, not only through physical withdrawal to the forest.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct after the war. In this verse he explains that honoring leading virtuous persons and foremost renunciants repeatedly brings the fruits of the forest-ascetic stage, emphasizing social ethics and reverence as a path to spiritual gain.