ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
ह्वीनिषेव: सुहोत्रश्न भूरिहा पुष्पवान् वृष: । सत्येषु#षभो बाहु: कपिलाश्वञी विरूपक:
hvīniṣevaḥ suhotraśna bhūrihā puṣpavān vṛṣaḥ | satyeṣuṣabho bāhuḥ kapilāśvañ ca virūpakaḥ ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “(Sa hanay/serye na iyon) may mga lalaking may sari-saring pangalan at katangian—Hvīniṣeva, Suhotraśna, Bhūrihā, Puṣpavān, at Vṛṣa; gayundin sina Satyeṣuṣabha, Bāhu, Kapilāśva, at Virūpaka.”
भीष्म उवाच
The verse functions as a genealogical enumeration: it emphasizes continuity of lineage and the remembrance of rulers/ancestors, a common Shānti-parvan method for grounding ethical and political instruction (dharma and rājadharma) in historical exemplars.
Bhīṣma is listing successive figures (likely kings or notable persons) within a lineage being discussed in this section of Śānti Parva, naming them in sequence as part of a broader account that supports instruction on conduct and governance.