Shloka 36
एवं धर्म पालयिष्यस्यथो त्वं न चात्मानं मज्जयिष्यस्यधर्मे तस्मात् काम॑ रोचयाभ्यागतं त्वं संयोज्याथो संहरस्वेह जन्तून्,“इस प्रकार तुम धर्मका पालन करोगी और अपने-आपको पापमें नहीं डुबाओगी; अतः अपनेको प्राप्त होनेवाले इस अधिकारको प्रसन्नतापूर्वक ग्रहण करो और कामको इस कार्यमें लगाकर इस जगतके प्राणियोंका संहार करो'
evaṃ dharma pālayiṣyasy atho tvaṃ na cātmānaṃ majjayiṣyasy adharme tasmāt kāmaṃ rocayābhyāgataṃ tvaṃ saṃyojyātho saṃharasveha jantūn
Bhīṣma sprach: „So wirst du Dharma wahren und dich nicht in Adharma versenken. Darum nimm mit Freude die dir zugekommene Vollmacht an und, indem du das Verlangen (kāma) an diese Aufgabe spannst, vollziehe hier die Vernichtung der Lebewesen.“
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a hard duty as dharma: one should accept rightful authority without falling into adharma, and even powerful impulses like kāma must be subordinated and directed toward the ordained task rather than allowed to lead to personal moral downfall.
Bhīṣma addresses a female addressee (as indicated by the Hindi gloss) and instructs her to accept an obtained right/office and to carry out a destructive function—‘saṃhāra’ of beings—while remaining within the bounds of dharma, emphasizing duty over personal hesitation.