Shloka 17
उपदेशदोषप्रसङ्गः (Upadeśa-doṣa-prasaṅgaḥ) — The Risk of Misapplied Counsel
शुश्रूषया परॉल्लोकानवाप्स्यसि न संशय:
śuśrūṣayā parāṁl lokān avāpsyasi na saṁśayaḥ
Bhīṣma disse: Pelo serviço devotado alcançarás os mundos mais elevados—não há dúvida. O chefe do āśrama declarou: «Neste eremitério, nenhum Śūdra pode permanecer ostentando os sinais externos do saṃnyāsa. Se desejas ficar aqui, fica de modo simples e serve aos sādhu e aos mahātmā. Pelo próprio serviço obterás os mundos excelentes; não há dúvida.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Devoted service (śuśrūṣā)—especially to sādhus and disciplined elders—is presented as a direct means to spiritual merit and higher attainment; inner conduct and service can outweigh mere external renunciant signs.
Bhīṣma, in his instruction on dharma, assures the listener that by remaining in an āśrama setting and serving the virtuous with sincerity, one will gain exalted results; the surrounding context (as reflected in the Gītā Press Hindi note) contrasts eligibility for renunciant marks with the universally accessible path of service.