Shloka 20
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 126 — Kṛṣṇa’s Indictment of Misrule and the Varuṇa Analogy (कृष्णवाक्यं–धर्मपाशदृष्टान्तः)
इति मातड्भवचन परीप्सन्ति हितेप्सव: । धर्माय चैव प्रणमेद् ब्राह्मुणेभ्यश्व मद्विध:,“अपना हित चाहनेवाले मनुष्य मातंग मुनिके उपर्युक्त वचनको ही ग्रहण करते हैं; अतः मेरे-जैसा पुरुष केवल धर्म तथा ब्राह्मणको ही प्रणाम कर सकता है (शत्रुओंको नहीं)
iti mātaṅga-bhavacanaṃ parīpsanti hitepsavaḥ | dharmāya caiva praṇamed brāhmaṇebhyaś ca mad-vidhaḥ |
Waiśampāyana berkata: “Mereka yang menginginkan kesejahteraan dirinya menerima nasihat sang resi Mātaṅga itu. Karena itu, orang sepertiku hanya menunduk kepada Dharma dan kepada para Brāhmaṇa—bukan kepada musuh.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should align one’s conduct with Dharma and honor those worthy of reverence (especially Brāhmaṇas); pragmatic self-interest should not lead to paying homage to adversaries in a way that compromises righteous principle.
Vaiśampāyana, narrating the events, cites the earlier counsel attributed to the sage Mātaṅga and concludes that those who truly seek their welfare accept that counsel; accordingly, he states a norm of conduct: offering obeisance to Dharma and Brāhmaṇas, not to enemies.