Shloka 169
शास्त्रजां मतिमास्थाय नून॑ भक्षयिताद्य माम् । जानामि क्षुधितं तु त्वामाहारसमयश्च ते
śāstrajāṁ matim āsthāya nūnaṁ bhakṣayitādya mām | jānāmi kṣudhitaṁ tu tvām āhārasamayaś ca te ||
Bhīṣma said: “Relying on a resolve grounded in the scriptures, you will surely eat me today. I know you are hungry, and that this is your time for food.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames even a harsh act (being eaten/devoured) within dharma: one should act with awareness of scriptural norms and with compassion for another being’s natural need (hunger), emphasizing restraint, clarity of intention, and ethical accountability.
Bhīṣma addresses an unnamed ‘you,’ acknowledging that the other is hungry and that it is the proper time for food; he anticipates that the other will devour him, and he notes that this decision is being taken under a scripturally grounded resolve.