Shloka 21
ऋत्विग्धर्मः, दक्षिणा-न्यायः, तपसः परमार्थः
Ritvij-Dharma, the Norm of Dakṣiṇā, and the Higher Meaning of Tapas
सर्व जिद्ठां मृत्युपदमार्जवं ब्रह्मण: पदम् । एतावान् ज्ञानविषय: कि प्रलाप: करिष्यति,सारी कुटिलता मृत्युका स्थान है और सरलता परब्रह्मकी प्राप्तिका स्थान है। इतना ही ज्ञानका विषय है और सब प्रलापमात्र है, वह किस काम आयेगा?
sarvaṁ jihvāṁ mṛtyu-padam ārjavaṁ brahmaṇaḥ padam | etāvān jñāna-viṣayaḥ kiṁ pralāpaḥ kariṣyati ||
Bhishma disse: “Toda astúcia tortuosa é uma estação na estrada para a morte; a retidão é a estação que conduz a Brahman. Só isto é o domínio do verdadeiro conhecimento — de que serve qualquer fala vã além disso?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma contrasts moral crookedness (kutilatā) with straightforward sincerity (ārjava): deceit and duplicity lead to ruin, while simplicity and rectitude lead toward Brahman (liberation). He dismisses further clever argumentation as mere pralāpa—talk without transformative value.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira. Here he distills the ethical message into a sharp maxim: cultivate straightforwardness as the spiritual path, and avoid vain disputation or rhetorical excess.