Shloka 16
आपद्धर्मे कोशबलन्यायः | Treasury, Force, and Crisis-Ethics for the King
दुर्लभ: स मया द्र॒ष्ट नूनं परमधार्मिक: । एक: पुत्रो महारण्ये नष्ट इत्यसकृत् तदा,“वह बड़ा धर्मात्मा था। अब उसका दर्शन होना अवश्य ही मेरे लिये दुर्लभ है। एक ही बेटा था, वह भी इस विशाल वनमें खो गया' इन्हीं बातोंको वे बार-बार दुहराते थे
durlabhaḥ sa mayā draṣṭuṃ nūnaṃ paramadhārmikaḥ | ekaḥ putro mahāraṇye naṣṭa iti asakṛt tadā ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: «Sin duda, ahora me será difícil volver a ver a ese hombre supremamente justo. “Sólo tenía un hijo, y se ha perdido en este inmenso bosque” —esas mismas palabras repetía una y otra vez.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how even a highly dharmic person can be overwhelmed by grief and attachment; repeated lamentation shows the human side of righteousness and invites compassion rather than judgment.
Bhīṣma recounts a scene where a very righteous man repeatedly laments that his only son has gone missing in a vast forest, implying separation and the difficulty of meeting him again.