Adhyāya 270 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s inquiry on saṃnyāsa; Bhīṣma on calculable time, tamas, and karma
Vṛtra–Uśanā exemplum begins
ततोअब्रवीत् कुण्डधारो दिव्यं ते चक्षुरुत्तमम् । पश्य राज्ञां गतिं विप्र लोकांश्वैव तु चक्षुषा
tato 'bravīt kuṇḍadhāro divyaṃ te cakṣur uttamam | paśya rājñāṃ gatiṃ vipra lokāṃś caiva tu cakṣuṣā ||
于是俱ṇḍadhāra说道:“婆罗门中之最胜者啊,你已获得至上的天眼。故当以此眼观之:诸王死后将得何等归趣,循何等道路,往至何等世界。”
भीष्म उवाच
The verse frames kingship within moral accountability: rulers are not exempt from karmic consequence, and their post-mortem destiny and the worlds they reach are to be understood through higher discernment (divine vision), implying that ethical governance has metaphysical results.
Bhīṣma reports that Kuṇḍadhāra addresses a Brahmin, granting/acknowledging his attainment of divine sight and instructing him to use it to directly perceive the fate of kings and the realms they go to—setting up a revelatory description of royal destinies.