Mahabharata · Chapter 13.181
kṣatradharmamanuprāptaḥ smaranneva ca vīryavān /
tyaktvā hi kīṭatāṃ rājaṃścacāra vipulaṃ tapaḥ //
tasya dharmārthaviduṣo dṛṣṭvā tadvipulaṃ tapaḥ /
ājagāma dvijaśreṣṭhaḥ kṛṣṇadvaipāyanastadā //
vyāsa uvāca /
kṣātrādeva vratātkīṭa bhūtānāṃ paripālaya /
kṣātraṃ devavrataṃ dhyāsaṃstato vipratvameṣyasi //
pāhi sarvāḥ prajāḥ samyak śubhāśubhavidātmavān /
śubhaiḥ saṃvibhajankāmairaśubhānāṃ ca bhāvanaiḥ //
ātmavānbhava suprītaḥ svadharmācaraṇe rataḥ /
kṣātrīṃ tanuṃ samutsṛjya tato vipratvameṣyasi //
bhīṣma uvāca /
so'pyaraṇyādabhipretya punareva yudhiṣṭhira /
maharṣervacanaṃ śrutvā prajā dharmeṇa pālayan //
acireṇaiva kālena kīṭaḥ pārthivasattama /
prajāpālanadharmeṇi pretya vipratvamāgataḥ //
tatastaṃ brāhmaṇaṃ draṣṭuṃ punareva mahāyaśāḥ /
ājagāma mahāprājñaḥ kṛṣṇadvaipāyanastadā //
vyāsa uvāca /
bhobho brahmarṣabha śrīmanmā vyathiṣṭhāḥ kathañcana /
śubhakṛcchubhayonīṣu pāpakṛtpāpayoniṣu //
upapadyati dharmajña yathādharmaṃ yathāvratam / tasmānmṛtyubhayātkīṭa mā vyathiṣṭhāḥ kathañcana /
dharmalābhātparaṃ na syāttasmāddharmaṃ carottamam //
kīṭa uvāca /
sukhātsukhataraṃ prāpto bhagavaṃstvatkṛte hyaham /
dharmamūlaṃ śubhaṃ prāpya pāpmā naṣṭa ihādya me //
bhīṣma uvāca /
bhagavadvacanātkīṭo brāhmaṇyaṃ prāpya durlabham / akarotpṛthivīṃ rājanyajñayūpaśatāṅkitām /
tataḥ sālokyamagamadbrahmaṇo brahmavittamaḥ //
atha pāpaharaṃ kīṭaḥ pārta brahma sanātanam /
svakarmaphalanirvṛttaṃ vyāsasya vacanāttadā //
kurukṣetre yuddhahatāḥ puṇye kṣatriyapuṅgavāḥ /
samprāptāste gatiṃ puṇyāṃ tanmā tvaṃ śoca putraka //
Original text: Mahābhārata (southern recension) · Edition: Śrīman Mahābhāratam, ed. T. R. Krishnacharya and T. R. Vyasacharya, Nirnaya Sagar Press, Bombay 1906–1910; e-text by SARIT (Shrinivasa Varakhedi and others) · SARIT: Search and Retrieval of Indic Texts · SARIT (e-text) via Internet Archive · CC BY-SA 3.0