Shloka 18
उपदेशदोषप्रसङ्गः (Upadeśa-doṣa-prasaṅgaḥ) — The Risk of Misapplied Counsel
भीष्म उवाच एवमुक्तस्तु मुनिना स शूद्रोडचिन्तयन्नूप । कथमत्र मया कार्य श्रद्धा धर्मपरा च मे
bhīṣma uvāca | evam uktas tu muninā sa śūdro 'cintayannṛpa | katham atra mayā kāryaṃ śraddhā dharmaparā ca me ||
ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ നരേശ്വരാ! മുനി ഇങ്ങനെ പറഞ്ഞപ്പോൾ ആ ശൂദ്രൻ ചിന്തിച്ചു—ഇവിടെ ഞാൻ എന്ത് ചെയ്യണം? എന്റെ ശ്രദ്ധ ധർമ്മത്തിൽ ദൃഢമാണ്.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical deliberation: when instructed by an authority (a sage), one should pause and reflect on what action is truly appropriate (kārya) in the given context, grounding the decision in śraddhā and commitment to dharma rather than impulse.
Bhishma narrates to the king that after hearing the sage’s words, a Shudra begins to think carefully about his next step—asking what he ought to do now—because his inner disposition is oriented toward dharma and sincere faith.