Shloka 93

Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)

Devanagari script

ततो जग्राह स श्वाड़ं जीवितार्थी महामुनि: । सदारस्तामुपाह्त्य वने भोक्तुमियेष सः,जीवित रहनेकी इच्छावाले उन महामुनिने कुत्तेके शरीरके उस एक भागको ग्रहण कर लिया और उसे वनमें ले जाकर पत्नीसहित खानेका विचार किया

Transliteration

tato jagrāha sa śvāḍaṃ jīvitārthī mahāmuniḥ | sadārastām upāhṛtya vane bhoktum iyeṣa saḥ ||

Translation

Then that great sage, driven by the desire to preserve his life, took a portion of the dog’s flesh. Carrying it away along with his wife, he intended to eat it in the forest—an episode that starkly frames the moral tension between sheer survival and the restraints of dharma.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

जग्राहseized, took

सःhe

श्वानम्a dog

जीवितार्थीdesiring life, seeking to live

महामुनिःthe great sage

सदारःtogether with (his) wife

ताम्her

उपाहृत्यhaving brought (along)

वनेin the forest

भोक्तुम्to eat

इयेषwished, intended

सःhe

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

mahāmuni (great sage)

wife of the sage

dog (śvan)

forest (vana)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a sharp ethical conflict: even a revered ascetic may be pushed by extreme need into actions normally condemned. It invites reflection on how dharma is tested under distress and how intention (survival) complicates moral judgment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma narrates that a great sage, wishing to stay alive, takes a piece of a dog’s flesh and, accompanied by his wife, carries it into the forest with the intention of eating it.