Shloka 17
उपदेशदोषप्रसङ्गः (Upadeśa-doṣa-prasaṅgaḥ) — The Risk of Misapplied Counsel
शुश्रूषया परॉल्लोकानवाप्स्यसि न संशय:
śuśrūṣayā parāṁl lokān avāpsyasi na saṁśayaḥ
Wika ni Bhīṣma: Sa tapat na paglilingkod, mararating mo ang mas matataas na daigdig—walang alinlangan. Sinabi ng pinuno ng āśrama: “Sa loob ng āśramang ito, walang Śūdra na maaaring manirahan na may suot na mga panlabas na tanda ng saṃnyāsa. Kung nais mong manatili rito, manatili kang payak at maglingkod sa mga sādhū at mahātmā. Sa paglilingkod mo mismo, makakamtan mo ang pinakamainam na mga daigdig; walang alinlangan.”
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.