Shloka 23
राजधर्मः—प्रजापालनं दानयज्ञश्च
Royal Duty—Protection of Subjects, Generosity, and Sacrificial Discipline
तात! तुम अपनी बुद्धि और विचारसे जैसा आचरण करते हो, तुम्हारे विषयमें ऐसी आशा न तो पाण्डुने की थी और न कुन्तीने ही ऐसी आशा की थी ।।
tāta! tvaṃ svabuddhyā vicāreṇa ca yathācarasi, tava viṣaye tādṛśī āśā na pāṇḍunā kṛtā nāpi kuntyā. śauryaṃ balaṃ ca satyaṃ ca pitā tava sadābravīt; māhātmyaṃ ca mahauḍāryaṃ bhavataḥ kuntyayācata.
毗湿摩说道：“亲爱的孩子，你如今的作为——凭你自己的判断与思虑而行——既非你父亲般度所曾期望的结果，你母亲昆蒂也从未愿见如此。你父亲常常叮嘱：愿你身上增长勇武、力量与真实；你母亲亦祈愿：愿你的伟大胸怀与高贵慷慨日益增盛。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma reminds the listener that noble birth and parental guidance impose ethical expectations: cultivate valor and strength in the service of dharma, but anchor them in truthfulness, magnanimity, and generosity. Conduct that departs from these virtues is a moral falling-away from one’s intended character.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction to the grieving king, Bhishma addresses him affectionately and rebukes his present conduct as contrary to what Pandu and Kunti desired for him, then enumerates the virtues they wished to see flourish in him.