Shloka 33
Cāturāśramya-dharma—Marks of the Four Āśramas (चातुराश्रम्यधर्मः)
भीष्मजी कहते हैं--राजन्! मान्धाताको इस प्रकार उपदेश देकर इन्द्ररूपधारी भगवान् विष्णु मरुदगणोंके साथ अविनाशी एवं सनातन परमपद विष्णुधामको चले गये ।।
bhīṣma uvāca—rājan! māndhātāram evaṃ upadiśya indrarūpadhārī bhagavān viṣṇuḥ marudgaṇaiḥ saha avināśi evaṃ sanātanaṃ paramaṃ padaṃ viṣṇudhāma jagāma. evaṃ pravartite dharme purā sucarite ’nagha, kaḥ kṣatraṃ avamanyeta cetanāvān bahuśrutaḥ? niṣpāpa nareśvara! evaṃ prācīnakāle bhagavatā viṣṇunā eva rājadharmaḥ pravartitaḥ, satpuruṣaiś ca sa suṣṭhu ācaritaḥ; tādṛśe sati ko nāma kṣātradharmam avajñāsyāt?
毗湿摩说道：“大王啊！如是教诫了曼陀诃多之后，那位具足福德的毗湿奴世尊——化现为因陀罗之形——与诸摩鲁特同往，归于不坏、永恒的至上境界，即毗湿奴自有之居处：毗湿奴天（Viṣṇu-dhāma）。无罪者啊！当法在上古如是建立，并为诸善人善加奉行之时，哪一个有觉知、博闻多识之士，会去轻蔑刹帝利之法？无瑕的人主啊！实乃毗湿奴最初开行王者之法，而正直之人亦忠实践履；在此情形之下，谁还能以轻慢之心对待武士之法呢？”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Royal duty (rājadharma) and the kshatriya code are not merely human conventions; they are portrayed as divinely instituted by Vishnu and validated by ancient righteous practice. Therefore, a discerning and learned person should not disparage kshatriya-dharma.
Bhishma recounts that Vishnu, having instructed King Mandhata while appearing in Indra’s form, departs with the Maruts to Vishnu’s eternal abode. Bhishma then draws a normative conclusion: since Vishnu established rajadharma long ago and the virtuous lived by it, contempt for kshatriya duty is unreasonable.