Shloka 21
विधिवत क्षत्रियश्रेष्ठा: स च सर्वो जनस्तदा । इस प्रकार कुरुश्रेष्ठ भीष्मजीका दाह-संस्कार करके समस्त कौरव अपनी स्त्रियोंको साथ लेकर ऋषि-मुनियोंसे सेवित परम पवित्र भागीरथीके तटपर गये। उनके साथ महर्षि व्यास
tato bhāgīrathī devī tanayasya udake kṛte | niṣpāpa putragāṇ! yathārthaṃ śṛṇuta me vacaḥ | bhīṣmo rājocita-sadācāra-sampannaḥ | sa uttama-buddhiḥ śreṣṭha-kula-sampannaś ca ||
当库鲁众人已为其子毗湿摩行毕洒水奠祭（jalāñjali）之礼时，女神婆伽罗提（恒河）便在水面上显现。她为悲恸所摧，哭泣哀号，继而对库鲁众说道：“无罪的诸子啊，请如实细听我所言。毗湿摩具备王者应有的正行——在礼俗与纪律上端正不阿；其识见卓越，出自高贵门第。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage upholds dharma through ritual and character: proper funerary offerings (udaka/tarpaṇa) are a duty, and Bhīṣma is praised as an exemplar of rājadharma—royal conduct grounded in sadācāra (ethical discipline), sound judgment, and noble responsibility.
After the Kauravas complete the water-offering for Bhīṣma on the bank of the Gaṅgā, the river-goddess Bhāgīrathī manifests on the water, grieving, and addresses them as ‘sinless sons,’ beginning a eulogy of Bhīṣma’s virtues.