Shloka 19
Kṣātra-Dharma, Daṇḍanīti, and Social Order
Indra–Māndhātṛ Dialogue
मान्धातोवाच असंशयं भगवन्नादिदेवं द्रक्ष्यामि त्वा5हं शिरसा सम्प्रसाद्य | त्यक्त्वा कामान् धर्मकामोहारण्य- मिच्छे गन्तुं सत्पर्थं लोकदृष्टम्
bhīṣma uvāca | māndhātovāca: asaṁśayaṁ bhagavan ādi-devaṁ drakṣyāmi tvāhaṁ śirasā samprasādya | tyaktvā kāmān dharma-kāmo ’haṁ āraṇyam icche gantuṁ sat-patham loka-dṛṣṭam ||
曼达塔说道：“噢，吉祥的主啊！毫无疑问，我必将得见原初之神——我俯首于你足下，蒙你垂怜，全凭你的恩德。如今我舍弃一切欲求，只愿成就达摩；因此我愿入林而去，因为这正是世间所见证的真实道路，是贤德之人在生命终了时所指示的正道。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds a classical ethical trajectory: renounce personal cravings (kāma) and orient life toward dharma, trusting that sincere humility and devotion lead to divine grace and higher vision (darśana). It also appeals to social-moral precedent—what the virtuous have demonstrated as the ‘true path’.
Within Bhīṣma’s discourse, Māndhātā speaks, declaring confidence that by bowing and pleasing the revered figure he will attain a vision of the Primeval Deity (identified in the Hindi gloss as Viṣṇu). He then announces his resolve to abandon worldly desires and go to the forest, following the well-attested path of the righteous.