Shloka 1203
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
विविशु: पुत्रमादाय नगरं हृष्टमानसा: । राजन! भरतश्रेष्ठ! भगवान् शंकरकी कृपासे वे सब लोग तुरंत ही पुत्रशोक त्यागकर प्रसन्नचित्त हो पुत्रको साथ ले अपने नगरको चले गये
viviśuḥ putram ādāya nagaraṃ hṛṣṭamānasāḥ | rājan bharataśreṣṭha bhagavān śaṅkarasya kṛpayā te sarve janāḥ sadya eva putraśokaṃ tyaktvā prasannacittāḥ putraṃ saha ādāya svanagaraṃ jagmuḥ |
Bhishma said: “O King, best of the Bharatas! By the grace of the Blessed Lord Śaṅkara, all those people at once cast off their grief for the son. With minds restored to joy, they took the boy with them and returned to their own city.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the transformative power of divine grace: intense personal sorrow can be relinquished when higher compassion intervenes, restoring clarity and joy. Ethically, it points to resilience and the possibility of inner renewal beyond grief.
Bhishma tells the king that, through Śaṅkara’s favor, the people immediately abandoned their grief for the son, became cheerful, took the boy with them, and returned to their city.