Shloka 38
अध्याय २८१ — दानधर्मः, न्यायागतधनम्, ऋणत्रय-परिशोधनं च
Dāna ethics, lawful wealth, and settling obligations
अस्माकं ब्रह्म॒वध्याया: को5नन््तो लोकपितामह । देवेनाभिहतानस्मान् न पुनर्हन्तुमहिसि,“लोकपितामह! हमारी इस ब्रह्महत्याका अन्त कया होगा? हम तो यों ही दैवके मारे हुए स्थावर योनिमें पड़े हैं; अतः: अब आप पुन: हमें न मारें
asmākaṁ brahmavadhyāyāḥ ko 'nanto lokapitāmaha | devenābhihatān asmān na punar hantum arhasi ||
Bhishma said: “O Lokapitāmaha, what end will there be to this sin of Brahmin-slaying (brahmahatyā) that has come upon us? Already struck down by fate, we lie fallen into the condition of immobile existence; therefore you should not strike us again.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of brahma-slaying as a grave transgression and frames suffering as already administered by fate (daiva). It urges restraint—when beings are already afflicted by destiny and karmic consequence, further violence is portrayed as unnecessary and improper.
Bhīṣma addresses Lokapitāmaha (Brahmā), asking when the consequence of brahma-slaying will end. He states that they have already been struck by fate and reduced to an immobile state, and therefore requests that they not be struck or killed again.