Shloka 53
ब्राह्मणपूजा-राजधर्मः | Royal Duty of Honoring Learned Brahmins
एतत् तु वचन श्रुत्वा भगोस्तथ्यं प्रतर्दन:
etat tu vacanaṃ śrutvā bhagoḥ tathyaṃ pratardanaḥ | maharṣiṃ bhṛguṃ caiva yathārtha-vacanaṃ śrutvā pratardano bahu prasannaḥ san śanaiḥ śanaiḥ tayor ubhayor caraṇau spṛṣṭvā uvāca— “bhagavan! yadi evaṃ, tarhi ahaṃ kṛtakṛtyo ’smi; atra saṃśayo nāsti.”
毗湿摩说：普罗塔尔达那听到这些真实之言，心中大喜。他怀着敬意，轻轻触摸诸位圣贤的足下，说道：“噢，蒙福者！若果真如此，我的所求已得圆满——毫无疑虑。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truthful instruction (tathya/yathārtha-vacana) has transformative ethical force: when a seeker receives clear, reality-aligned guidance from a worthy authority, it brings inner completion (kṛtakṛtyatā) and removes doubt.
After hearing the sages’ truthful words, Pratardana becomes pleased, approaches with humility, touches their feet as a sign of reverence, and declares that if what he has heard is true, then his aim is fulfilled and he has no remaining doubt.