Shloka 49
Śama-prāptiḥ — Gautamī–Lubdhaka–Pannaga–Mṛtyu–Kāla-saṃvāda
Restraint through the Analysis of Karma and Time
भीष्म उवाच तथा ब्रुवति तस्मिंस्तु पन्नगे मृत्युचोदिते । आजगाम ततो मृत्यु: पन्नगं चाब्रवीदिदम्
bhīṣma uvāca tathā bruvati tasmiṁs tu pannage mṛtyucodite | ājagāma tato mṛtyuḥ pannagaṁ cābravīd idam ||
Bhishma said: While that serpent—urged on by Death—kept speaking in this manner, repeatedly declaring himself blameless and placing the fault upon Death, the god Death arrived there and addressed the serpent as follows. The episode frames a moral inquiry into agency and accountability: when harm is done under another’s prompting, who bears the true responsibility?
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets up an ethical problem about agency: when an act of harm is carried out under another’s instigation (here, Death’s prompting), the narrative invites reflection on who is culpable—the immediate doer, the instigator, or both—within a dharmic framework of karma and responsibility.
A serpent, prompted by Death, has bitten a child and then argues that he is not at fault, blaming Death instead. As the serpent continues speaking this way, Death personified arrives on the scene and begins to address the serpent, leading into a direct dialogue.