Shloka 17
Brāhmaṇa-vandana: Criteria for Veneration, Disciplined Speech, and Protective Kingship (अनुशासनपर्व, अध्याय ८)
कर्मणा मनसा वापि वाचा वापि परंतप । यन्मे कृतं ब्राह्मुणेभ्यस्तेनाद्य न तपाम्यहम्
karmaṇā manasā vāpi vācā vāpi parantapa | yan me kṛtaṃ brāhmaṇebhyas tenādya na tapāmy aham ||
بھیشم نے کہا—اے دشمنوں کو جلانے والے! عمل سے، دل سے یا زبان سے میں نے برہمنوں کے لیے جو بھی خدمت کی ہے، اسی نیکی کے اثر سے آج اس حالت میں بھی میں کرب کی آگ میں نہیں جلتا۔
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Merit gained by respectful service—through action, thought, and speech—especially toward Brahmanas and the learned, becomes an inner support in times of suffering; ethical conduct across all three channels (body, mind, speech) steadies the mind.
Bhishma, lying in a grievous condition after the war, instructs the king (Yudhishthira). He explains that he does not feel overwhelming anguish now because of the beneficial acts he previously performed for Brahmanas.