Shloka 56
ब्राह्मणपूजा-राजधर्मः | Royal Duty of Honoring Learned Brahmins
त्याजितो हि मया जातिमेष राजा भृगूद्धह | ततस्तेनाभ्यनुज्ञातो ययौ राजा प्रतर्दन:
tyājito hi mayā jātim eṣa rājā bhṛgūddhaha | tatas tenābhyanujñāto yayau rājā pratardanaḥ ||
Bhishma nói: “Quả thật, ta đã buộc vị vua này—Pratardana, bậc kiệt xuất trong dòng Bhṛgu—phải từ bỏ căn tính giai cấp của mình. Sau đó, được ngài cho phép, vua Pratardana liền ra đi.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between birth-based identity (jāti) and conduct/discipline: a respected figure (Bhīṣma, in narration) can compel a ruler to relinquish attachment to social identity, implying that dharma may demand transcending mere birth-status when higher moral or spiritual aims are at stake.
Bhīṣma recounts that he caused King Pratardana—praised as eminent among the Bhṛgus—to give up his jāti-identity. After this act, Pratardana receives permission (abhyanujñā) and then departs, indicating the close of an instruction/disciplinary episode.