Shloka 45
Viśvāmitra-janma: Ṛcīka–Satyavatī–Gādhi and the Charu Exchange (विश्वामित्र-जन्म: ऋचीक–सत्यवती–गाधि वृत्तान्तः)
काम ममोग्रकर्मा वै पौत्रो भवितुमर्हति । नतु मे स्यात् सुतो ब्रद्म॒न्नेष मे दीयतां वर:,“मेरा पौत्र चाहे उग्रकर्मा क्षत्रियस्वभावका हो जाय; परंतु मेरा पुत्र वैसा न हो। ब्रह्मन! मुझे यही वर दीजिये”
kāma mamograkarmā vai pautro bhavitum arhati | na tu me syāt suto brāhman neṣa me dīyatāṁ varaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “Let my grandson, if it must be so, become a man of fierce deeds in the kṣatriya manner; but let not my own son be of that kind. O Brāhmaṇa, grant me this very boon.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical discernment in lineage: Bhīṣma accepts that harsh kṣatriya fierceness may arise in later generations, yet he seeks to prevent such a temperament in his immediate son—implying a duty to shape character and restrain destructive tendencies where one has direct responsibility.
Bhīṣma, speaking to a Brāhmaṇa who can grant a boon, requests a specific favor: he concedes that a grandson may become fierce in action, but asks that his own son not be so, and urges the Brāhmaṇa to grant precisely this boon.