Shloka 15

राज्ञोऽभिषेकः, अराजकदोषः, दण्डधारणस्य आवश्यकता

Royal Consecration, the Fault of Kinglessness, and the Necessity of Enforcement

Devanagari script

आह्रिकं जपमानस्य देवान्‌ पूजयत: सदा । धर्मेण पुरुषव्याप्र धर्माश्रमपदं भवेत्‌

Transliteration

āhrikaṃ japamānasya devān pūjayataḥ sadā | dharmeṇa puruṣavyāpta dharmāśramapadaṃ bhavet, puruṣasiṃha! |

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Hỡi sư tử giữa loài người, ai mỗi ngày thực hành các nghi lễ được quy định và trì tụng thần chú thiêng, lại thường hằng thờ phụng chư thiên, thì nhờ năng lực của dharma ấy mà đạt công đức của việc giữ trọn āśrama của dharma—tức đạo nhà (gārhastha) được duy trì đúng phép.”

Word by Word

• आह्रिकम्: daily rite (nitya-karman)
• आह्रिकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आह्रिक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• जपमानस्य: of (one) who is muttering/reciting
• जपमानस्य: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: जप्
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• देवान्: the gods
• देवान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• पूजयतः: of (one) who worships
• पूजयतः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज्
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• सदा: always
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा

• धर्मेण: by/through dharma (righteous conduct)
• धर्मेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• पुरुषव्याघ्र: O tiger among men
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुषव्याघ्र
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• धर्माश्रमपदम्: the state/fruit of (proper) dharma and āśrama
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्माश्रमपद
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• भवेत्: would be / would accrue
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• devas (gods)
• dharma-āśrama (especially gārhasthya)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Regular performance of daily obligatory rites, mantra-recitation (japa), and worship of the gods generates dharmic merit that is equivalent to (or establishes one in) the proper fulfillment of the householder’s āśrama-duties.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the listener on dharma after the war, emphasizing disciplined daily religious practice as a foundation for ethical life and for attaining the recognized merit of the gārhasthya (householder) stage.