Shloka 6
अध्याय १५२: लोभः पापस्य मूलम् — Greed as the Root of Wrongdoing
न हि नो ब्रद्यशप्तानां शेषं भवितुमर्हति | स्तुतीरलभमानानां संविदं वेदनिश्चितान्
na hi no brāhmaṇaśaptānāṁ śeṣaṁ bhavitum arhati | stutīr alabhamānānāṁ saṁvidaṁ vedaniścitān ||
Bhīṣma said: “Indeed, if the Brahmins cast their curse upon us, nothing of our lineage will be left. Because of our wrongdoing we neither obtain praise in society nor achieve concord with our own kinsmen. Therefore, overwhelmed by grief and dispassion, we shall repeatedly appeal to Brahmins like you—those who possess decisive knowledge of the Vedas—saying: just as yogins dwelling in solitude protect sinful men, so too, out of compassion alone, please protect distressed people like us.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses the grave moral and social consequences of incurring Brahminical censure, and it frames refuge in Veda-grounded sages as an ethical remedy: those who have fallen into wrongdoing should seek protection and guidance from the compassionate and spiritually disciplined, who can restore order and harmony.
Bhishma, speaking in the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, voices a fear that a Brahmins’ curse could annihilate a lineage. He describes a community losing honor and unity due to sin, and depicts their turning—again and again—to Veda-knowing Brahmins, requesting compassionate protection like that offered by solitary yogins to the morally compromised.