Shloka 58
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
केवल तुमने ही सौ यज्ञोंका अनुष्ठान किया हो, यह बात नहीं है। उन सभी राजाओंने सौ-सौ यज्ञ किये थे। सभी धर्मपरायण थे और सभी निरन्तर यज्ञमें संलग्न रहते थे। वे सभी आकाशमें विचरनेकी शक्ति रखते थे और युद्धमें शत्रुके सामने डटकर लोहा लेनेवाले थे ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | kevalaṁ tvayāiva śata-yajñānām anuṣṭhānaṁ kṛtam iti na | teṣāṁ sarveṣāṁ rājñāṁ śata-śata-yajñāḥ kṛtāḥ | sarve dharma-parāyaṇāḥ sarve ca nityaṁ yajñeṣu saṁlagnāḥ | sarve ākāśa-gamanāśaktimantaḥ sarve ca yuddhe śatru-sammukhe sthitvā lohaṁ gṛhṇantaḥ || sarve saṁhanana-upetāḥ sarve parigha-bāhavaḥ | sarve māyā-śata-dharāḥ sarve te kāma-rūpiṇaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“并非唯有你一人曾行百祭。那些诸王也都各各行过百次祭祀。众皆奉持法（Dharma），恒常勤修祭仪；他们具备凌空行走之力，临阵对敌亦能稳立不退，显其英勇。众皆体魄雄健，臂膀粗壮坚实如铁杵；又皆通晓百般幻术神通，随心所欲变现形貌。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma counters pride in singular achievement: even extraordinary ritual merit (a hundred sacrifices) is not unique. True excellence is framed as sustained dharmic commitment—steadfastness in duty, continual sacrificial discipline, and courage in battle—rather than self-congratulation over one metric of merit.
Bhishma describes a class of earlier kings, emphasizing that many of them performed vast sacrificial rites and were both righteous and formidable. He highlights their martial steadfastness and even their extraordinary, quasi-divine capacities (sky-travel, magical arts, shape-shifting) to underscore the scale of past exemplars.