Shloka 20
Brāhmaṇa-vandana: Criteria for Veneration, Disciplined Speech, and Protective Kingship (अनुशासनपर्व, अध्याय ८)
यथा भार्त्राश्रियो धर्म: स्त्रीणां लोके युधिष्ठिर । स देव: सा गतिर्नन्या क्षत्रियस्य तथा द्विजा:
yathā bhartṛ-āśrayo dharmaḥ strīṇāṃ loke yudhiṣṭhira | sa devaḥ sā gatir nānyā kṣatriyasya tathā dvijāḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“犹如啊，优提施提罗，在此世间，人们认为女子之法依于其夫——夫唯独是她的神明，是她至高的归依，别无终极所向——同样地，对刹帝利而言，侍奉并恭敬婆罗门乃是至上之法。婆罗门是他的神明，是他最高的归依；此外再无他途。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma frames dharma as a relationship of acknowledged dependence and reverence: as a wife’s social-religious duty is portrayed as centered on her husband as ‘deva’ and ‘gati’, so a kṣatriya’s highest duty is to honor and serve brāhmaṇas, treating them as the primary spiritual authority and refuge.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on proper conduct and social duties. Here he uses an analogy to emphasize the kṣatriya’s obligation to support and defer to brāhmaṇas as part of maintaining dharma in society.