Shloka 17
प्रतिग्रहभेदः — The Distinction between Giving and Accepting
Vṛṣādarbhī–Saptarṣi Dialogue
अकृतं मुनिश्रि: पूर्व कि मयेदमनुछितम् । कथं नु शापेन न मां दहेयुत्राह्मिणा इति
akṛtaṁ muniśriḥ pūrvaṁ kiṁ mayedam anucitam | kathaṁ nu śāpena na māṁ daheyur brāhmaṇā iti | aho! munibhir yaḥ kāryaḥ pūrvaṁ kadācid api na kṛtaḥ sa mayāiva kṛtaḥ | mama asya manomaya-vyavahārasya darśanāt brāhmaṇāḥ śāpena māṁ kuto na bhasma-kuryuḥ ||
Bhishma said: “Why have I done this improper act—something the sages had never done before? How is it that the brahmins do not burn me up with their curse? Alas, I alone have carried out what the seers had never undertaken; seeing this willful, self-directed conduct of mine, why would the brahmins not reduce me to ashes by their imprecation?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a powerful person must remain within dharma and social-ethical propriety (aucitya). When one knowingly performs an improper, unprecedented act, remorse and fear of moral consequence naturally arise; the verse underscores accountability before the spiritual-ethical authority represented by sages and brahmins.
Bhishma reflects with self-reproach on having committed an improper deed—one that even sages had not done. He wonders why the brahmins have not cursed him to ashes, expressing anxiety about the spiritual and ethical repercussions of his willful conduct.