Shloka 9
राज्ञोऽभिषेकः, अराजकदोषः, दण्डधारणस्य आवश्यकता
Royal Consecration, the Fault of Kinglessness, and the Necessity of Enforcement
लोकमुख्येषु सत्कारं लिज्ञलिमुख्येषु चासकृत् । कुर्वतस्तस्य कौन्तेय वन्याश्रमपदं भवेत्
lokamukhyeṣu satkāraṁ liṅgimukhyeṣu cāsakṛt | kurvatas tasya kaunteya vanyāśramapadaṁ bhavet ||
Wika ni Bhishma: O anak ni Kunti, ang paulit-ulit at walang patid na nagbibigay-galang at marangal na pagtanggap sa mga pinakadakila sa daigdig at sa mga pangunahing asceta/āśramī ay nakakamit din ang kaparehong katayuang espirituwal at kabutihang-loob na nakukuha sa yugto ng vānaprastha (naninirahan sa gubat). Ang aral: ang taos at tuluy-tuloy na paggalang sa mga karapat-dapat—lalo na sa mabubuti at tumalikod sa mundo—ay makapagbibigay ng bunga ng austeridad kahit nananatili sa lipunan.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Continual respectful honour (satkāra) offered to the truly worthy—especially eminent people of virtue and eminent ascetics—can confer the same merit and spiritual standing associated with the vānaprastha (forest-dweller) āśrama. Dharma is shown here as attainable through sustained reverence and service, not only through physical withdrawal to the forest.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct after the war. In this verse he explains that honoring leading virtuous persons and foremost renunciants repeatedly brings the fruits of the forest-ascetic stage, emphasizing social ethics and reverence as a path to spiritual gain.