Shloka 2
Chatra–Upānah Dāna: Origin Narrative
Jamadagni–Reṇukā–Sūrya Saṃvāda
पुष्करार्थ कृतं स्तैन्यं पुरा भरतसत्तम । राजर्षिभिमीहाराज तथैव च द्विजर्षिभि:,भरतवंशशिरोमणे! महाराज! पूर्वकालमें कुछ राजर्षियों और ब्रह्मर्षियोंने भी इसी प्रकार कमलोंके लिये चोरी की थी
puṣkarārtha-kṛtaṁ stainyaṁ purā bharatasattama | rājarṣibhir mahārāja tathaiva ca dvijarṣibhiḥ ||
Bhishma said: “O best of the Bharatas, O great king—long ago, even royal sages, and likewise Brahmin sages, committed theft for the sake of obtaining lotuses.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma notes that even highly revered figures (royal and Brahmin sages) have, in earlier times, committed theft for a specific desire (lotuses). The point is to frame the act within dharma-discussion: it remains ‘theft,’ yet moral evaluation may consider motive, context, and precedent when advising on conduct or expiation.
Bhishma is instructing the king on matters of dharma and ethical judgment. In this verse he cites an old precedent: sages themselves once stole lotuses, implying that the situation under discussion has occurred before and can be assessed with nuance rather than shock or denial.