Bhīṣma’s Yogic Departure, Royal Cremation, and Gaṅgā’s Lament (भीष्मस्य योगयुक्त्या देहत्यागः, पितृमेधः, गङ्गाविलापः)
एवं ते वर्तमानस्य सम्यग्दण्डधरस्य च | प्रजापालनदक्षस्य स्वर्गलोको भविष्यति
evaṁ te vartamānasya samyag daṇḍadharasya ca | prajā-pālana-dakṣasya svargaloko bhaviṣyati ||
Bhishma berkata: “Jika engkau bertindak demikian—menegakkan danda (hukuman) dengan adil dan cakap dalam memelihara rakyat—maka surgaloka akan menjadi tujuanmu.”
भीष्म उवाच
A ruler earns spiritual merit by administering punishment justly (daṇḍa) and by competently protecting and sustaining the people; ethical governance itself becomes a path to higher worlds.
Bhishma, instructing the king on rajadharma, concludes that if the listener continues to act in this prescribed way—fair in discipline and effective in public welfare—he will attain svargaloka.