Shloka 18
अश्वत्थाम-शापः, परिक्षिद्भविष्यत्, मणि-न्यासः
Aśvatthāman’s Curse, Parikṣit’s Future, and the Mani’s Restitution
तस्माद् यद् देवकीपुत्र उत्तवानुत्तमं वच: । असंशयं ते तद् भावि क्षत्रधर्मस्त्वया55श्रित:
tasmād yad devakīputra uttavānuttamaṃ vacaḥ | asaṃśayaṃ te tad bhāvi kṣatradharmas tvayā śritaḥ ||
因此，噢提婆姬之子，你所说的至善之言必将应验。毫无疑问，你已依止刹帝利之法（kṣatriya-dharma）——武士之道，守其决断，护其众生，并承担战阵之严酷所需。
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms that steadfast adherence to kṣatriya-dharma—speaking and acting with warriorly resolve and responsibility—has consequences that will certainly manifest; righteous commitment makes one’s declared course effectively inevitable.
Vyāsa addresses Kṛṣṇa (called Devakīputra), validating Kṛṣṇa’s prior statement as ‘unsurpassed’ and declaring that it will surely come true, because Kṛṣṇa has embraced the path and obligations of kṣatriya-dharma in the unfolding post-war events of the Sauptika Parva.