Shloka 42
आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः
Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca
जीवितार्थी कथं त्वद्य शत्रुभि: प्रार्थितस्त्रिभि: । तस्मादेनमहं शत्रुं मार्जार संश्रयामि वै
jīvitārthī kathaṃ tv adya śatrubhiḥ prārthitas tribhiḥ | tasmād enam ahaṃ śatruṃ mārjāraṃ saṃśrayāmi vai ||
ভীষ্ম ক’লে—মই জীৱন ৰক্ষা কৰিব বিচাৰোঁ, আৰু আজি তিনিজন শত্রু মোৰ ওপৰত ঘাত পাতি আছে; তেন্তে মই কেনেকৈ চলিম? সেয়ে মই মোৰ শত্রু—এই বিড়ালটোকেই—আশ্ৰয় কৰোঁ।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a pragmatic ethical tension: when threatened by multiple dangers, one may seek protection even from a hostile party. It points to the complexity of dharma in crisis—choices may be driven by survival, yet they carry moral ambiguity because refuge is taken in an 'enemy'.
A speaker (Bhīṣma, narrating a didactic episode) voices the predicament of being targeted by three enemies at once and concludes that, to save his life, he will resort to the shelter of a cat—explicitly acknowledging the cat as an enemy, yet choosing it as a temporary refuge against greater immediate threats.