Shloka 24
Chapter 78: Royal Responsibility for Wealth, Social Order, and the Protection of Dvijas
Kekaya Exemplum
(शुक्लकर्मास्मि सर्वत्र न दुर्गतिभयं मम । धर्मचारी गृहस्थश्न॒ मामकान्तरमाविश: ।।
bhīṣma uvāca |
śukla-karmāsmi sarvatra na durgati-bhayaṁ mama |
dharmacārī gṛhasthaś ca māmakāntaram āviśaḥ ||
ātma-vijñāna-sampannas tapasyī sarva-dharma-vit |
svāmī sarvasya rāṣṭrasya dhīmān mama purohitaḥ ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Sa lahat ng dako, malinis at walang dungis ang aking gawa; wala akong takot na mahulog sa masamang kalagayan. Ako’y isang maybahay na namumuhay ayon sa dharma—paano, kung gayon, ka nakapasok sa aking kaloob-looban? Ang aking sariling purohit ng angkan ay marunong, may kaalaman sa sarili, nakatuon sa pag-aayuno at pagninilay, at bihasa sa lahat ng tungkuling itinuturo ng dharma; siya, wari’y panginoon at gabay na kapangyarihan ng buong kaharian.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Righteous, ‘pure’ action (śukla-karma) and faithful performance of one’s dharma—especially gṛhastha-dharma—remove the fear of moral and posthumous downfall (durgati). The verse also elevates self-knowledge and dharma-competence as the basis of true authority and guidance, embodied in the ideal purohita.
Bhishma speaks in a tone of moral self-assurance, declaring his purity of conduct and lack of fear of ‘durgati.’ He questions how an intruding presence could have entered his inner being, and then points to his own wise priest—endowed with self-knowledge, austerity, and mastery of dharma—as the rightful guiding authority for the realm.