Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 52
ब्राह्मणाश्रैव ते नित्यं प्राज्ञाश्रैव विशेषत: | आचार्या ऋत्विजश्वचैव पूजनीया जनाधिप
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
brāhmaṇāś caiva te nityaṃ prājñāś caiva viśeṣataḥ |
ācāryā ṛtvijaś caiva pūjanīyā janādhipa ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “O panginoon ng mga tao, dapat mong laging parangalan ang mga Brāhmaṇa—lalo na ang mga marurunong sa kanila. Gayundin, ang iyong mga guro at ang mga paring tagapagpaganap ng ritwal (ṛtvij) ay dapat laging igalang.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s dharma includes continual reverence toward Brāhmaṇas, with special honor to the truly wise, and unwavering respect for one’s teachers and the priests who uphold sacred rites—because they sustain learning, moral discernment, and the religious-social order.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction sequence, Vaiśampāyana reports Bhīṣma’s counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira: after speaking, Bhīṣma reiterates a key rule of conduct for kings—honoring Brāhmaṇas, especially the learned, along with ācāryas and ṛtvijas.