Shloka 36
मृत्यु-काल-प्रबोधनम् (Instruction on Mortality, Time, and Truth) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 169
बाणवेधे परं यत्नमकरोच्चैव गौतम: । चक्राड्रानू स च नित्यं वै सर्वतो वनगोचरान्
bāṇavedhe paraṃ yatnam akaroc caiva gautamaḥ | cakrāḍrānū sa ca nityaṃ vai sarvato vanagocarān |
ভীষ্মে ক’লে—গৌতমে ধনুৰ্বিদ্যাত লক্ষ্যভেদত শ্ৰেষ্ঠতা লাভ কৰিবলৈ অতি তীব্ৰ পৰিশ্ৰমে অনুশীলন কৰিলে। তাৰ পিছত দস্যুৰ দৰে প্ৰতিদিন বনাঞ্চলৰ সকলো দিশে ঘূৰি ফুৰি শিকাৰ কৰিবলৈ ধৰিলে—হিংসাত নিপুণ, দয়াহীন, আৰু সদায় প্ৰাণীৰ বধত উদ্গ্ৰীৱ।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage contrasts disciplined skill (archery practice) with its ethical misuse: when ability is driven by cruelty and lack of compassion, it becomes a vehicle for adharma. It implicitly warns that technical excellence must be guided by restraint and mercy.
Bhīṣma describes a man named Gautama who trains hard in marksmanship and then habitually roams the forest hunting, behaving like a bandit—skilled in harming living beings and constantly seeking opportunities to kill.