Shloka 9
Gautama–Yama Saṃvāda: Mātṛ-Pitṛ-Ṛṇa (Debt to Parents) and Śubha-Loka Attainment
बलेन महता गुप्त: सामात्य: सावरोधन: । मृगस्तु विद्धो बाणेन मया सरति शल्यवान्
balena mahatā guptaḥ sāmātyaḥ sāvarodhanaḥ | mṛgas tu viddho bāṇena mayā sarati śalyavān ||
Bhishma said: “Protected by a great force, I was moving along with my ministers and the women’s quarters. Yet a deer that I had struck with an arrow fled from here, still bearing the arrow within it.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when surrounded by power and protection, one remains accountable for the harm one causes; the image of the wounded deer fleeing with the arrow underscores the ethical weight of violence and its lingering consequences.
Bhishma recounts traveling with a large armed escort, accompanied by ministers and the inner household, when a deer he had shot escapes, still carrying the arrow—setting up the circumstances for what follows in the episode.