Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 14
ईदृशश्वाप्यगस्त्यो हि कथितस्ते मयानघ । ब्रवीम्यहं ब्रूहि वा त्वमगस्त्यात् क्षत्रियं वरम्
īdṛśaś cāpy agastyo hi kathitas te mayānagha | bravīmy ahaṃ brūhi vā tvam agastyāt kṣatriyaṃ varam ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: “O ikaw na walang sala, inilarawan ko na sa iyo si Agastya bilang isang pantas na may pambihirang kapangyarihan—isang Brahmana na umabot sa gayong kadakilaan. Malinaw kong sinasabi ito; o kung may kilala kang Kṣatriya na higit kay Agastya, sabihin mo sa akin.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma underscores the exceptional spiritual and moral authority of the sage Agastya, implying that true greatness is measured by tapas, wisdom, and dharma rather than by royal power; he challenges the listener to name any Kṣatriya who surpasses such a Brahmin sage.
In the course of instruction, Bhīṣma has been describing Agastya’s extraordinary stature. He now presses the interlocutor with a rhetorical challenge: either accept Agastya’s unmatched excellence or present a Kṣatriya who is superior to him.