Shloka 23
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
हतविप्रा हतारक्षा प्रणष्टौषधिसंचया । सर्वभूतरुतप्राया बभूव वसुधा तदा,ब्राह्मण नष्ट हो गये थे। रक्षकवृन्दका भी विनाश हो गया था, ओषधियोंके समूह (अनाज और फल आदि) भी नष्ट हो गये थे, वसुधापर सब ओर समस्त प्राणियोंका हाहाकार व्याप्त हो रहा था
hataviprā hatārakṣā praṇaṣṭauṣadhi-saṃcayā | sarvabhūta-ruta-prāyā babhūva vasudhā tadā ||
Bhishma said: “At that time the Brahmins had been slain, the protectors and guardians were destroyed, and the stores of medicinal herbs and provisions were wiped out. The earth then became filled on all sides with the cries and lamentations of living beings.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical consequence of adharma: when those who uphold knowledge and ritual order (vipras) and those who provide protection (rakshas) are destroyed, even basic life-supporting resources (auṣadhi and stores) collapse, and society descends into universal suffering. It implies a ruler’s dharma is to safeguard the learned, ensure protection, and preserve resources essential for life.
Bhishma is describing a time of severe disorder and calamity: Brahmins have been killed, the protective establishment has been wiped out, medicinal plants and stored provisions have perished, and the earth is dominated by the cries of distressed beings—an image of widespread ruin and lamentation.