Shloka 19
Adharmic Victory as Unstable; Rules of Restraint, Mediation, and Conciliation (अधर्मविजय-अध्रुवत्व तथा क्षमा-नयः)
एतेनैव च वृत्तेन महीं प्राप सुरोत्तम: । अनेन चेन्द्रविषयं विजिगीषन्ति पार्थिवा:,इसी बर्तावसे देवराज इन्द्रने राज्य पाया था और इसी बर्तावके द्वारा भूपालगण स्वर्गलोकपर विजय पाना चाहते हैं
etenaiva ca vṛttena mahīṃ prāpa surottamaḥ | anena cendravīṣayaṃ vijigīṣanti pārthivāḥ ||
Bhishma berkata: “Dengan tata laku inilah juga Indra, yang terbaik antara para dewa, mencapai kedaulatan atas bumi. Dan dengan tata laku yang sama, raja-raja di dunia berhasrat menakluk alam Indra (syurga).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that righteous conduct (vṛtta)—a disciplined, ethical way of living and ruling—is the decisive cause of both worldly sovereignty and heavenly attainment; power and victory are grounded in dharma rather than mere force.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on royal duty and dharma, Bhishma cites the example of the foremost god (implicitly Indra) attaining dominion through a particular code of conduct, and says that kings likewise aim at Indra’s heavenly realm by following that same conduct.