Shloka 35
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
अहो कृच्छूं मया प्राप्तमिति निश्चित्य कौशिक: । पपात भूमौ दौर्बल्यात् तस्मिंश्ञाण्डालपक्कणे,“अहो! यह तो मुझपर बड़ा भारी संकट आ गया।” ऐसा सोचते-सोचते विश्वामित्र अत्यन्त दुर्बलताके कारण वहीं एक चाण्डालके घरमें पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े
aho kṛcchraṁ mayā prāptam iti niścitya kauśikaḥ | papāta bhūmau daurbalyāt tasmiñ cāṇḍālapakkaṇe ||
Bhishma said: “Alas, a grievous calamity has befallen me,”—so concluding, Kauśika (Viśvāmitra), overcome by weakness, collapsed to the ground right there, in the dwelling of a Caṇḍāla.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and spiritual lesson that greatness is tested under hardship: even a powerful sage can be humbled by suffering and physical weakness, prompting reflection on perseverance, humility, and steadiness in dharma amid adverse conditions.
Viśvāmitra (Kauśika), thinking that a severe संकट (hardship) has come upon him, becomes extremely weak and collapses to the ground in a Caṇḍāla’s dwelling; Bhīṣma narrates this as part of the Shānti Parva’s moral-discursive storytelling.