Shloka 22
Haṃsa–Sādhya Saṃvāda: Satya, Dama, Kṣamā and the Discipline of Speech
यदा मृतं च स्वजन न ज्ञास्यसि कदाचन । सुखितं दुःखितं वापि ननु बोद्धव्यमात्मना
yadā mṛtaṃ ca svajanaṃ na jñāsyasi kadācana | sukhitaṃ duḥkhitaṃ vāpi nanu boddhavyam ātmanā ||
যখন কোনো স্বজন মরে এই লোক ত্যাগ করে, তখন সে সুখী না দুঃখী—এ কথা তুমি কখনও নিশ্চিতভাবে জানতে পারবে না; তাই এ বিষয়ে নিজেই চিন্তা করে বুঝে নাও।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Since the post-death state of a departed relative cannot be known with certainty, one should not let speculative beliefs govern one’s conduct; instead, one must use one’s own discernment and inner reflection to act rightly.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction, Bhishma counsels the listener on how to think about death and bereavement, emphasizing the limits of knowledge about the dead and urging personal contemplation as the basis for ethical steadiness.