Shloka 18
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
बद्धश्च॒ वारुणै: पाशैर्वजेण च समाहत: । हृतदारो हृतधनो ब्रूहि कस्मान्न शोचसि
baddhaś ca vāruṇaiḥ pāśair vajreṇa ca samāhataḥ | hṛtadāro hṛtadhano brūhi kasmān na śocasi ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Fest gebunden mit Varuṇas Schlingen und vom Donnerkeil niedergestreckt; der Gattin beraubt und des Reichtums beraubt — sag mir: aus welchem Grund trauerst du nicht?“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral-psychological inquiry: even when one is overwhelmed by external losses (bondage, injury, loss of spouse and wealth), the wise may remain unshaken. Bhīṣma’s question invites reflection on the grounds of non-grief—discrimination between what is truly ‘self’ and what is contingent, and the cultivation of steadiness amid misfortune.
Bhīṣma addresses a person described as severely afflicted—bound by Varuṇa’s nooses and struck by the vajra, and also deprived of spouse and wealth. Observing that such a person nevertheless does not lament, Bhīṣma asks for the reason, setting up an explanation about endurance, insight, or dharmic understanding.