Shloka 54
Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu
Gṛhastha-Vrata
यदि प्रमाणं धर्मस्ते गृहस्थाअ्रमसम्मत: । प्रदानेनात्मनो राज्ञि कर्तुमरहसि मे प्रियम्,“रानी! यदि तुम्हें गृहस्थसम्मत धर्म मान्य है तो मुझे अपना शरीर देकर मेरा प्रिय कार्य करना चाहिये”
yadi pramāṇaṃ dharmas te gṛhasthāśramasammataḥ | pradānenātmano rājñi kartum arhasi me priyam ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Hỡi Hoàng hậu, nếu nàng lấy dharma của bậc gia chủ làm chuẩn mực, thì nàng nên làm điều ta ưa muốn bằng cách hiến dâng chính thân mình như một lễ vật.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse appeals to an accepted ethical authority (pramāṇa) and argues that if one recognizes householder-dharma as binding, one should act accordingly—even when the requested act is personally difficult—framing duty as grounded in socially sanctioned norms.
Bhīṣma addresses a queen and urges her to perform an act that would please him, justifying the request by invoking the standards of gṛhastha-dharma and the principle of giving (pradāna), specifically the offering of one’s own person.