Shloka 14
कपोती-विलापः स्वर्गसंयोगश्च
The Dove’s Lament and Celestial Reunion
ये नृशंसा दुरात्मान: प्राणिप्राणहरा नरा: । उद्बवेजनीया भूतानां व्याला इव भवन्ति ते
ye nṛśaṃsā durātmānaḥ prāṇiprāṇaharā narāḥ | udvejanīyā bhūtānāṃ vyālā iva bhavanti te ||
Dijo Bhishma: Aquellos hombres crueles y de corazón perverso, que arrebatan la vida a los seres vivientes, se vuelven objeto de temor y repulsión para todas las criaturas—como serpientes venenosas. La enseñanza es que la violencia nacida de la crueldad aísla a una persona de la comunidad moral: tal vida la hace universalmente temida, no respetada.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cruelty and the taking of life make a person universally feared and shunned; ethical conduct (especially restraint from harming beings) is essential for social trust and moral standing.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. Here he characterizes violent, cruel men as comparable to serpents—creatures that all beings instinctively avoid—highlighting the social and moral consequences of such behavior.