Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
तयोर्विज्ञानविदुषोर्द्धयोर्मगपतत्रिणो: । वाक्यैरमृतकल्पैस्तै: प्रतिष्ठन्ति व्रजन्ति च
tayor vijñāna-viduṣor dvayor mṛga-patatriṇoḥ | vākyair amṛta-kalpais taiḥ pratiṣṭhanti vrajanti ca ||
ভীষ্ম বললেন—ওই দু’জনের মধ্যে একজন ছিল পশু, অন্যজন পাখি; তবু দু’জনেই বিবেক-জ্ঞান বোঝায় পারদর্শী। তাদের অমৃতসম বাক্যে প্রভাবিত হয়ে মৃতের আত্মীয়েরা কখনও থেমে যেত, কখনও আবার এগিয়ে চলত।
भीष्म उवाच
Wise, life-affirming speech can steady a mind shaken by bereavement—sometimes stopping impulsive action, sometimes enabling rightful movement forward—showing that counsel grounded in insight guides conduct amid grief.
Bhīṣma describes a scene where two beings—one an animal and the other a bird—speak profound, ‘nectar-like’ words. Those words affect the mourners (the dead person’s relatives), causing them alternately to pause and then to continue, as their emotions and decisions are shaped by the counsel.