Shloka 21
Gāndhārī’s Battlefield Survey: The Fallen and the Onset of Funeral Rites (शल्य-भगीरथ-भीष्म-द्रोणादि-दर्शनम्)
धर्मात्मा तात सर्वज्ञ: पारावर्येण निर्णये । अमर्त्य इव मर्त्य: सन्नेष प्राणानधारयत्,तात! ये धर्मात्मा और सर्वज्ञ हैं। परलोक और इहलोकसम्बन्धी ज्ञानद्वारा सभी आध्यात्मिक प्रश्नोंका निर्णय करनेमें समर्थ हैं तथा मनुष्य होनेपर भी देवताके तुल्य हैं; इन्होंने अभीतक अपने प्राण धारण कर रखे हैं
dharmātmā tāta sarvajñaḥ pārāvaryeṇa nirṇaye | amartya iva martyaḥ sann eṣa prāṇān adhārayat, tāta ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: “Meu filho, este homem é reto de espírito e onisciente. Pelo seu discernimento de ‘esta margem e a outra’—as coisas deste mundo e do próximo—ele é capaz de decidir questões espirituais. Embora humano, é como um imortal; e ainda agora, meu filho, ele continua a sustentar o seu sopro vital.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
True authority in ethical and spiritual matters is portrayed as a union of dharma (righteous character) and comprehensive discernment spanning both worldly and otherworldly concerns; such a person, though mortal, is revered as godlike.
Vaiśampāyana, addressing a listener affectionately as “tāta,” praises a particular figure’s righteousness and all-knowing discernment, emphasizing that despite being human he appears like an immortal and has, up to this moment, continued to sustain his life.