Shloka 20
Durgātitaraṇa—Conduct for Crossing Difficulties (दुर्गातितरणम्)
जो दूसरोंसे सम्मान नहीं चाहते, जो स्वयं ही दूसरोंको सम्मान देते हैं और सम्माननीय पुरुषोंको नमस्कार करते हैं, वे दुर्लघ्य संकटोंसे पार हो जाते हैं ।।
yo dūsarebhyaḥ sammānaṁ na icchanti, ye svayam eva dūsarān sammānaṁ dadati ca sammānīyān puruṣān namaskurvanti, te durlaṅghyān saṅkaṭān atitaranti. ye ca śrāddhāni kurvanti tithyāṁ tithyāṁ prajārthinaḥ, suviśuddhena manasā durgāṇy atitaranti te.
Bhīṣma dit : Ceux qui ne recherchent pas les honneurs d’autrui, mais honorent eux-mêmes les autres et se prosternent devant les hommes dignes de révérence, franchissent les épreuves difficiles à surmonter. De même, ceux qui désirent une descendance et accomplissent, à chaque tithi (jour lunaire), le śrāddha pour les ancêtres avec un esprit parfaitement purifié, dépassent eux aussi des calamités périlleuses et comme infranchissables.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that humility and active respect—not craving recognition, honoring others, and bowing to the truly venerable—create moral strength that helps one overcome severe crises. He adds that sincere, pure-minded performance of ancestral śrāddha, especially by one seeking progeny, is also presented as a dharmic support that carries a person through difficult misfortunes.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he is listing conduct and observances that protect a person in adversity: social-ethical discipline (humility and honoring the worthy) and ritual-ancestral duty (regular śrāddha performed with purity of intention).