Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 9
अहिंसा-आत्मौपम्य-उपदेशः | Instruction on Ahiṃsā and Self-Comparison Ethics
भरण्यां तु शिरो विद्यात् केशाना्द्रां नराधिप । समाप्ते तु घृतं दद्याद् ब्राह्मणे वेदपारगे
bharaṇyāṃ tu śiro vidyāt keśānārdraṃ narādhipa | samāpte tu ghṛtaṃ dadyād brāhmaṇe vedapārage ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “O hari, alamin na ang Bharaṇī ang ‘ulo’, at ang Ārdrā ang ‘buhok’ (ng kosmikong anyo). Pagkatapos italaga ang mga nakṣatra sa mga sangkap ng katawan at sambahin ang mga ito sa kani-kanilang mantra—na araw-araw ay gumagawa ng japa at homa—kapag natapos ang panata sa gabi ng kabilugan ng buwan, magbigay ng ghee bilang kawanggawa sa isang Brāhmaṇa na ganap na bihasa sa mga Veda.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a dharmic pattern of observance: symbolic contemplation (mapping nakṣatras onto the body/cosmic form), disciplined daily worship with mantra-japa and homa, and concluding the vow with dāna—specifically, gifting ghee to a Veda-versed Brāhmaṇa—so that inner devotion is completed by outward generosity and support of sacred learning.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king on religious observances. Here he describes a specific ritual-visualization involving nakṣatras (Bharaṇī as the head, Ārdrā as the hair), followed by daily rites, and then prescribes a concluding full-moon donation of ghee to a learned Brāhmaṇa.