Shloka 124
Āśā-prabhava (आशाप्रभव) — On the Rise and Power of Hope/Expectation
Sumitra Itihāsa Begins
भीष्मजी कहते हैं--कुन्तीनन्दन! राजा धृतराष्ट्रने अपने पुत्रको यह उपदेश दिया था। तुम भी इसका आचरण करो, इससे तुम्हें भी वही फल प्राप्त होगा ।।
bhīṣma uvāca—kuntīnandana! rājā dhṛtarāṣṭreṇa svaputrāya eṣa upadeśaḥ dattaḥ. tvam api asya ācaraṇaṃ kuru; anena tvam api tad eva phalaṃ prāpsyasi. iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi rājadharmānuśāsanaparvaṇi śīlavarṇanaṃ nāma caturviṃśatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ.
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: “O anak ni Kuntī! Ibinigay noon ni Haring Dhṛtarāṣṭra ang payong ito sa sarili niyang anak. Isagawa mo rin ito; sa paggawa nito, matatamo mo rin ang gayon ding bunga.” Sa gayon, sa Mahābhārata, sa Śānti Parva, sa loob ng bahaging nagtuturo ng dharma ng hari, nagwakas ang kabanatang tinatawag na ‘Paglalarawan ng Mabuting Asal (Śīla)’, ang ika-124.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma emphasizes that ethical instruction is not merely to be heard but to be practiced (ācaraṇa). By embodying the counsel—especially in the context of rajadharma and śīla—Yudhishthira will gain the same beneficial ‘fruit’ that such conduct yields.
At the close of the chapter on śīla (good conduct) within the Rajadharma instruction of the Shanti Parva, Bhishma tells Yudhishthira that this counsel was earlier given by Dhritarashtra to his own son, and urges Yudhishthira to adopt it in practice to attain its results.