Shloka 2
Brāhmaṇa-pūjā and Namaskāra: Criteria of Reverence and Non-Offense (ब्राह्मणपूजा-नमस्कारविधिः)
भवन्तो वै महाभागा अपरोक्षनिशाचरा: । उच्छिष्टानशुचीन क्षुद्रान् कथं हिंसथ मानवान्
bhavanto vai mahābhāgā aparokṣaniśācarāḥ | ucchiṣṭānaśucīn kṣudrān kathaṁ hiṁsatha mānavān ||
আপনারা নিশ্চয়ই মহাভাগ—চক্ষুর সম্মুখে বিদ্যমান নিশাচর। বলুন তো, উচ্ছিষ্ট-দোষে কলুষিত, অশুচি ও ক্ষুদ্রাচার মানুষদের আপনারা কীভাবে এবং কেন আঘাত করেন?
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry into violence: even when the victims are described as impure or of low conduct, Bhishma demands a reasoned account of why harm is inflicted. It highlights that moral justification for hiṁsā must be examined, not assumed.
Bhishma addresses a group of manifest ‘night‑wanderers’ (niśācaras), respectfully calling them mahābhāgāḥ, and questions them about their practice of harming humans—asking both the manner (katham) and the motive (implicit ‘why’) behind such violence.