Shloka 17
उपदेशदोषप्रसङ्गः (Upadeśa-doṣa-prasaṅgaḥ) — The Risk of Misapplied Counsel
शुश्रूषया परॉल्लोकानवाप्स्यसि न संशय:
śuśrūṣayā parāṁl lokān avāpsyasi na saṁśayaḥ
Bhīṣma dit : Par le service dévoué, tu atteindras les mondes supérieurs — il n’y a là aucun doute. Le chef de l’āśrama déclara : « Dans cet ermitage, nul Śūdra ne peut demeurer en portant les marques extérieures du saṃnyāsa. Si tu veux rester ici, demeure simplement et sers les sādhu et les mahātmā. Par le service même, tu obtiendras les mondes excellents ; il n’y a pas de doute. »
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.