Shloka 6
अध्याय १५२: लोभः पापस्य मूलम् — Greed as the Root of Wrongdoing
न हि नो ब्रद्यशप्तानां शेषं भवितुमर्हति | स्तुतीरलभमानानां संविदं वेदनिश्चितान्
na hi no brāhmaṇaśaptānāṁ śeṣaṁ bhavitum arhati | stutīr alabhamānānāṁ saṁvidaṁ vedaniścitān ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Wahrlich, wenn die Brahmanen ihren Fluch über uns sprechen, wird von unserem Geschlecht nichts übrigbleiben. Wegen unseres Unrechts erlangen wir weder Lob in der Welt noch Eintracht mit den eigenen Verwandten. Darum werden wir, von Kummer und Weltüberdruss überwältigt, immer wieder Brahmanen wie dich—die über ein entscheidendes Wissen der Veden verfügen—anflehen und sagen: So wie Yogins, die in der Einsamkeit wohnen, selbst sündige Menschen schützen, so schützt auch ihr, allein aus Mitgefühl, Bedrängte wie uns.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses the grave moral and social consequences of incurring Brahminical censure, and it frames refuge in Veda-grounded sages as an ethical remedy: those who have fallen into wrongdoing should seek protection and guidance from the compassionate and spiritually disciplined, who can restore order and harmony.
Bhishma, speaking in the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, voices a fear that a Brahmins’ curse could annihilate a lineage. He describes a community losing honor and unity due to sin, and depicts their turning—again and again—to Veda-knowing Brahmins, requesting compassionate protection like that offered by solitary yogins to the morally compromised.