Shloka 27
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
चिरं मुज्चत बाष्पं च चिरं स्नेहेन पश्यत । एवंविधानि हीष्टानि दुस्त्यजानि विशेषत:
ciraṁ muñcata bāṣpaṁ ca ciraṁ snehena paśyata | evaṁvidhāni hīṣṭāni dustyajāni viśeṣataḥ ||
Bhishma said: “For a long while, let your tears flow; and for a long while, look upon him with eyes softened by affection. For such beloved ones—especially dear children of this kind—are exceedingly hard to relinquish.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma acknowledges the natural force of familial affection: when the beloved—especially one’s own child—must be left behind (through separation or death), it is profoundly difficult. The verse validates grief while implicitly pointing to the ethical need to understand attachment as a powerful bond that must eventually be faced with discernment.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction, Bhishma speaks in a consoling, realistic tone about separation from loved ones. He urges the listener(s) to weep and to look with affection for a time, emphasizing how hard it is to part from those who are most dear.