Shloka 53
ब्राह्मणपूजा-राजधर्मः | Royal Duty of Honoring Learned Brahmins
एतत् तु वचन श्रुत्वा भगोस्तथ्यं प्रतर्दन:
etat tu vacanaṃ śrutvā bhagoḥ tathyaṃ pratardanaḥ | maharṣiṃ bhṛguṃ caiva yathārtha-vacanaṃ śrutvā pratardano bahu prasannaḥ san śanaiḥ śanaiḥ tayor ubhayor caraṇau spṛṣṭvā uvāca— “bhagavan! yadi evaṃ, tarhi ahaṃ kṛtakṛtyo ’smi; atra saṃśayo nāsti.”
ಆ ಸತ್ಯವಚನಗಳನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿ ಪ್ರತರ್ಧನನು ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಹರ್ಷಗೊಂಡನು. ಭಕ್ತಿಯಿಂದ ನಿಧಾನವಾಗಿ ಮಹರ್ಷಿಯ ಪಾದಗಳನ್ನು ಸ್ಪರ್ಶಿಸಿ ಹೀಗೆಂದನು— “ಭಗವನ್! ಇದು ನಿಜವಾಗಿದ್ದರೆ, ನಾನು ಕೃತಕೃತ್ಯನಾಗಿದ್ದೇನೆ; ಇದರಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಶಯವಿಲ್ಲ.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truthful instruction (tathya/yathārtha-vacana) has transformative ethical force: when a seeker receives clear, reality-aligned guidance from a worthy authority, it brings inner completion (kṛtakṛtyatā) and removes doubt.
After hearing the sages’ truthful words, Pratardana becomes pleased, approaches with humility, touches their feet as a sign of reverence, and declares that if what he has heard is true, then his aim is fulfilled and he has no remaining doubt.