Shloka 79
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
षाड्गुण्यगुणसारैषा स्थास्यत्यग्रे महात्मसु । धर्मार्थकाममोक्षाश्ष सकला ह्वात्र शब्दिता:,“यह विद्या संधि-विग्रह आदि छहों गुणोंका सारभूत है। महात्माओंमें इसका स्थान सबसे आगे होगा। इस शास्त्रमें धर्म, अर्थ, काम और मोक्ष--इन चारों पुरुषार्थोका निरूपण किया गया है”
ṣāḍguṇyaguṇasāraiṣā sthāsyaty agre mahātmasu | dharmārthakāmamokṣāś ca sakalā hy atra śabditāḥ ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Ang aral na ito ang pinakadiwa ng anim-na-tuping patakaran—kapayapaan, digmaan, pagmartsa, pananatili, paghingi ng kanlungan, at dalawahang estratehiya. Sa hanay ng mga dakilang-loob, ito ang mangunguna. Sa kasulatang ito, inilalahad at ipinapaliwanag ang apat na layunin ng tao—dharma, artha (kasaganaan), kāma (wastong pagnanasa), at mokṣa (paglaya).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma praises a śāstra/vidyā as supreme because it distills the essence of ṣāḍguṇya (six strategic policies of governance) while also encompassing the complete framework of the four puruṣārthas—dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa—showing that effective rule and ethical-spiritual aims should be integrated.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on kingship and right conduct after the war. Here he highlights the authority and comprehensiveness of a teaching on policy and human goals, presenting it as foremost among the wise and as a guide for both governance and life’s ultimate purposes.