Shloka 31
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
जम्बुकस्य वच: श्रुत्वा कृपणं परिदेवत: । न्यवर्तन्त तदा सर्वे शवार्थ ते सम मानुषा:,करुणाजनक विलाप करते हुए उस सियारकी यह बात सुनकर वे सभी मनुष्य उस मृत बालकके शरीरकी देख-रेखके लिये पुनः लौट आये
jambukasya vacaḥ śrutvā kṛpaṇaṁ paridevataḥ | nyavartanta tadā sarve śavārthaṁ te samā manuṣāḥ ||
Bhishma said: “Hearing the jackal’s words, spoken in a wretched, lamenting tone, all those ordinary men turned back at once, returning for the sake of the corpse—so that the dead child’s body might be attended to and not abandoned.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic obligation of compassion and responsibility: one should not abandon a helpless body (especially a child’s) but return to provide due care and proper rites, even when others are inclined to withdraw.
A jackal speaks in a sorrowful, lamenting way; upon hearing it, the men who had turned away reverse course and go back to attend to the corpse, ensuring it is not left neglected.