Shloka 24
Rājā–Rāja-Śabda-Prabhavaḥ — The Origin and Rationale of Kingship and Daṇḍanīti
भगवन् नरलोकस्थं ग्रस्तं ब्रह्म सनातनम् । लोभमोहादिभिभ्भावैस्ततो नो भयमाविशत्,“भगवन्! मनुष्यलोकमें लोभ, मोह आदि दूषित भावोंने सनातन वैदिक ज्ञानको विलुप्त कर डाला है; इसलिये हमें बड़ा भय हो रहा है
bhagavan naralokasthaṁ grastaṁ brahma sanātanam | lobhamohādibhir bhāvais tato no bhayam āviśat ||
Sinabi ni Bhishma: “O kagalang-galang! Sa daigdig ng mga tao, ang walang-hanggang Brahman—na dito’y tumutukoy sa di-naluluma at walang-panahong karunungang Veda—ay nilamon ng mga maruruming kalagayan tulad ng kasakiman at pagkalito ng isip. Kaya’t pumasok sa amin ang takot; sapagkat kapag natatakpan ang tunay na kaalaman ng kaguluhang moral, nalalagay sa panganib ang dharma mismo.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
When greed, delusion, and similar corrupt dispositions dominate society, they eclipse eternal Vedic wisdom; this threatens dharma and produces collective fear and instability. The verse warns that inner moral states directly shape the survival of sacred knowledge and ethical order.
In the Shanti Parva discourse, Bhishma is speaking to a revered listener and laments the condition of the human world: timeless sacred knowledge has been overwhelmed by greed and delusion, and this perceived collapse of dharma causes deep apprehension.