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 |
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Demikianlah, mereka yang mencari kesejahteraan diri menerima dan mengikuti nasihat yang telah disebutkan oleh resi Mātaṅga. Oleh itu, orang sepertiku hanya menunduk hormat kepada Dharma dan 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.