Shloka 3
Ākiṃcanya–Tyāga Upadeśa
The Instruction on Non-ownership and Renunciation
स तु सार्थो महान् राजन् कम्मिंश्वचिद् गिरिगह्रे । मत्तेन द्विरदेनाथ निहतः प्रायशो5भवत्
sa tu sārtho mahān rājan kammiṁśvacid girigahre | mattena dviradenātha nihataḥ prāyaśo 'bhavat, rājan |
قال بيشما: «أيها الملك، إن تلك القافلة العظيمة كانت قد عسكرت في كهفٍ من كهوف الجبل، فإذا بفيلٍ هائجٍ في سَوْرته يهجم عليهم بغتة. وفي ذلك الهجوم، أيها الملك، قُتل أكثر رجال القافلة.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the vulnerability of worldly undertakings to sudden, uncontrollable forces (here, a rutting elephant), setting up an ethical reflection typical of Shanti Parva: prudent conduct and dharmic foresight are needed because calamity can strike without warning.
A large merchant caravan has taken shelter in a mountain cave. A maddened elephant attacks, and most of the caravan’s people are killed, as Bhishma recounts this incident to the king as part of a larger instructive narrative.