Shloka 19
मातङ्ग–शक्रसंवादः
Mataṅga–Śakra Dialogue on Tapas, Status, and Moral Qualities
भीष्म उवाच अत्राप्युदाहरन्तीममितिहासं पुरातनम् । शिलोज्छवृत्ते: संवादं सिद्धस्य च युधिष्ठिर
bhīṣma uvāca | atrāpy udāharantīmam itihāsaṁ purātanam | śilocchavṛtteḥ saṁvādaṁ siddhasya ca yudhiṣṭhira ||
بھیشم نے کہا—“اے یُدھِشٹھِر! اس معاملے میں بھی ایک قدیم روایت بطور مثال بیان کی جاتی ہے۔ شِلوچّھ وِرتّی سے گزر بسر کرنے والے ایک شخص اور ایک سِدھ مہاتما کے درمیان ہونے والے مکالمے کا وہ پرانا حال سنو۔”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma introduces an ancient illustrative story to clarify dharma: ethical questions are best understood through precedents that highlight self-restraint, purity of livelihood, and the authority of realized wisdom (a siddha) in guiding conduct.
Bhishma tells Yudhishthira that, to explain the topic under discussion, he will recount an old itihasa—specifically a conversation between a man living by gleaning fallen grains (śilocchavṛtti) and a siddha—setting up the moral instruction that follows in subsequent verses.