Shloka 43
Adhyāya 270 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s inquiry on saṃnyāsa; Bhīṣma on calculable time, tamas, and karma
Vṛtra–Uśanā exemplum begins
ततोअब्रवीत् कुण्डधारो दिव्यं ते चक्षुरुत्तमम् । पश्य राज्ञां गतिं विप्र लोकांश्वैव तु चक्षुषा,तब कुण्डधारने ब्राह्मणसे कहा--'विप्रवर! तुम्हें परम उत्तम दिव्य दृष्टि प्राप्त हुई है; अतः तुम अपनी आँखोंसे देख लो कि राजाओंको किस गतिकी प्राप्ति होती है तथा वे किन-किन लोकोंमें जाते हैं!
tato 'bravīt kuṇḍadhāro divyaṃ te cakṣur uttamam | paśya rājñāṃ gatiṃ vipra lokāṃś caiva tu cakṣuṣā ||
তখন কুণ্ডধার বললেন—“হে ব্রাহ্মণশ্রেষ্ঠ! তুমি পরম উৎকৃষ্ট দিব্যদৃষ্টি লাভ করেছ। সেই দৃষ্টিতেই দেখো—রাজাদের কী গতি হয় এবং তারা কোন কোন লোকের দিকে গমন করে।”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames kingship within moral accountability: rulers are not exempt from karmic consequence, and their post-mortem destiny and the worlds they reach are to be understood through higher discernment (divine vision), implying that ethical governance has metaphysical results.
Bhīṣma reports that Kuṇḍadhāra addresses a Brahmin, granting/acknowledging his attainment of divine sight and instructing him to use it to directly perceive the fate of kings and the realms they go to—setting up a revelatory description of royal destinies.