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Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 116

आचारप्रशंसा

Praise of Ācāra as the Basis of Longevity, Fame, and Prosperity

वैद्यानां बालवृद्धानां भृत्यानां च युधिष्ठिर । बन्धूनां ब्राह्मणानां च तथा शारणिकस्य च

vaidyānāṁ bālavṛddhānāṁ bhṛtyānāṁ ca yudhiṣṭhira | bandhūnāṁ brāhmaṇānāṁ ca tathā śāraṇikasya ca ||

毗湿摩说道:“噢,坚战啊,应当按其应得而加以照拂与资助:医者、孩童与老者、依附之人及仆从、亲族与婆罗门——同样也包括前来求庇护与保护之人。”

वैद्यानाम्of physicians
वैद्यानाम्:
Sampradana
TypeNoun
Rootवैद्य
FormMasculine, Genitive, Plural
बालवृद्धानाम्of children and the aged
बालवृद्धानाम्:
Sampradana
TypeNoun
Rootबालवृद्ध
FormMasculine, Genitive, Plural
भृत्यानाम्of servants/dependents
भृत्यानाम्:
Sampradana
TypeNoun
Rootभृत्य
FormMasculine, Genitive, Plural
and
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root
युधिष्ठिरO Yudhiṣṭhira
युधिष्ठिर:
TypeNoun
Rootयुधिष्ठिर
FormMasculine, Vocative, Singular
बन्धूनाम्of kinsmen/relatives
बन्धूनाम्:
Sampradana
TypeNoun
Rootबन्धु
FormMasculine, Genitive, Plural
ब्राह्मणानाम्of Brahmins
ब्राह्मणानाम्:
Sampradana
TypeNoun
Rootब्राह्मण
FormMasculine, Genitive, Plural
and
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root
तथाlikewise/also
तथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतथा
शारणिकस्यof the Śāraṇika (a person so named / one belonging to the Śāraṇika group)
शारणिकस्य:
Sampradana
TypeNoun
Rootशारणिक
FormMasculine, Genitive, Singular
and
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root

भीष्म उवाच

B
Bhīṣma
Y
Yudhiṣṭhira
P
physicians (vaidya)
C
children (bāla)
T
the elderly (vṛddha)
D
dependents/servants (bhṛtya)
K
kinsmen (bandhu)
B
Brāhmaṇas
R
refuge-seeker/protected person (śāraṇika)

Educational Q&A

Bhīṣma emphasizes a ruler’s and householder’s dharma of sustaining and protecting key vulnerable or socially crucial groups—healers, children, the aged, dependents, relatives, Brāhmaṇas, and those who have sought refuge—treating their welfare as a moral obligation.

In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on righteous conduct and governance. Here he lists categories of people toward whom special responsibility and protective care must be shown, reinforcing the ethical framework of kingship and social duty.