Shloka 9
संधेयासंधेय-पुरुषनिर्णयः (Criteria for Allies and Non-Allies) — with the opening of the Gautama narrative
न दुष्करतं दानान्नातिमातरमाश्रय: । त्रैविद्येभ्य: परं नास्ति संन्यास: परम तप:,दानसे बढ़कर कोई दुष्कर धर्म नहीं है, माताकी सेवासे बड़ा कोई दूसरा आश्रय नहीं है, तीनों वेदोंके विद्वानोंसे श्रेष्ठ कोई विद्वान् नहीं है और संन्यास सबसे बड़ा तप है
na duṣkarataṁ dānān nātimātaram āśrayaḥ | traividyebhyaḥ paraṁ nāsti saṁnyāsaḥ paramaḥ tapaḥ ||
Bhīṣma nói: Không có pháp hạnh nào khó hơn việc bố thí. Không có nơi nương tựa nào lớn hơn sự phụng dưỡng mẹ hiền. Không có tri thức nào vượt hơn sự tinh thông ba bộ Veda. Và trong các khổ hạnh, xuất gia—xả ly (saṃnyāsa)—là khổ hạnh tối thượng.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a hierarchy of dharmic excellences: giving is the hardest virtue to practice; serving one’s mother is the greatest refuge; mastery of the three Vedas is the highest learning; and renunciation is the supreme austerity.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war, summarizing key ethical ideals that sustain personal and social order.