Shloka 17
उपदेशदोषप्रसङ्गः (Upadeśa-doṣa-prasaṅgaḥ) — The Risk of Misapplied Counsel
शुश्रूषया परॉल्लोकानवाप्स्यसि न संशय:
śuśrūṣayā parāṁl lokān avāpsyasi na saṁśayaḥ
Bhīṣma dijo: Por el servicio devoto alcanzarás los mundos superiores; de ello no hay duda. El jefe del āśrama declaró: «En este retiro nadie de condición śūdra puede permanecer llevando los signos externos del saṃnyāsa. Si piensas quedarte aquí, quédate sin tales distintivos y sirve a los sādhu y a los mahātmā. Por el servicio mismo obtendrás los mundos excelentes; no hay duda».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Devoted service (śuśrūṣā)—especially to sādhus and disciplined elders—is presented as a direct means to spiritual merit and higher attainment; inner conduct and service can outweigh mere external renunciant signs.
Bhīṣma, in his instruction on dharma, assures the listener that by remaining in an āśrama setting and serving the virtuous with sincerity, one will gain exalted results; the surrounding context (as reflected in the Gītā Press Hindi note) contrasts eligibility for renunciant marks with the universally accessible path of service.