Shloka 5

ब्राह्मणपूजा-राजधर्मः | Royal Duty of Honoring Learned Brahmins

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच शृणु राजन्‌ यथा राजा वीतहव्यो महायशा: । राजर्षिर्दिलभ प्राप्तो ब्राह्मण्यं लोकसत्कृतम्‌

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | śṛṇu rājan yathā rājā vītahavyo mahāyaśāḥ | rājarṣir durlabha-prāpto brāhmaṇyaṁ loka-satkṛtam ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“大王，请听我叙述：那位声名赫赫的王仙维塔哈维亚王，如何获得世间所尊、极为罕有的婆罗门之位。”

Word by Word

• भीष्मः: Bhishma
• भीष्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect, Third, Singular

• शृणु: listen
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• यथा: how; in what manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• राजा: the king
• राजा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वीतहव्यः: Vītahavya (proper name)
• वीतहव्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीतहव्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महायशाः: of great fame
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महायशस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राजर्षिः: royal sage
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजर्षि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दुर्लभम्: rare; hard to obtain
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्लभ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• प्राप्तः: having obtained; attained
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-आप्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle used actively), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ब्राह्मण्यम्: Brahminhood; the status of a Brahmin
• ब्राह्मण्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• लोकसत्कृतम्: honored by the world; publicly revered
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोक-सत्कृत
• Form: क्त (PPP of सत्+कृ), Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Vītahavya
• Rājan (the king being addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma introduces an example meant to illustrate that true spiritual and ethical attainment can confer honored status (here, brahminhood) beyond mere birth, and that society rightly venerates genuine virtue and realized conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma addresses the king and begins a didactic story: he will explain how the famed royal sage King Vītahavya came to attain the rare, world-respected condition of brahminhood.