Shloka 19
Kṣātra-Dharma, Daṇḍanīti, and Social Order
Indra–Māndhātṛ Dialogue
मान्धातोवाच असंशयं भगवन्नादिदेवं द्रक्ष्यामि त्वा5हं शिरसा सम्प्रसाद्य | त्यक्त्वा कामान् धर्मकामोहारण्य- मिच्छे गन्तुं सत्पर्थं लोकदृष्टम्
bhīṣma uvāca | māndhātovāca: asaṁśayaṁ bhagavan ādi-devaṁ drakṣyāmi tvāhaṁ śirasā samprasādya | tyaktvā kāmān dharma-kāmo ’haṁ āraṇyam icche gantuṁ sat-patham loka-dṛṣṭam ||
Māndhātā sprach: „O seliger Herr, ohne Zweifel werde ich den Urgott schauen—indem ich mein Haupt zu deinen Füßen neige und deine Gunst erlange, allein durch deine Gnade. Alle Begierden habe ich aufgegeben; nun verlange ich einzig nach der Erfüllung des Dharma. Darum will ich in den Wald aufbrechen, denn dies ist der wahre Weg, wie ihn die Welt bezeugt—der Pfad, den die Tugendhaften am Ende des Lebens weisen.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds a classical ethical trajectory: renounce personal cravings (kāma) and orient life toward dharma, trusting that sincere humility and devotion lead to divine grace and higher vision (darśana). It also appeals to social-moral precedent—what the virtuous have demonstrated as the ‘true path’.
Within Bhīṣma’s discourse, Māndhātā speaks, declaring confidence that by bowing and pleasing the revered figure he will attain a vision of the Primeval Deity (identified in the Hindi gloss as Viṣṇu). He then announces his resolve to abandon worldly desires and go to the forest, following the well-attested path of the righteous.