Shloka 5
Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession
अन्यत्र मरणाद् दैन्यादन्यत्र परसंश्रयात् | क्षुद्रादन्यत्र चाचारात् तन््ममाचक्ष्व सत्तम
anyatra maraṇād dainyād anyatra parasaṁśrayāt | kṣudrād anyatra cācārāt tan mamācakṣva sattama, sādhūśiromaṇe |
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô le meilleur des hommes, joyau au faîte des vertueux, dis-moi s’il existe une autre voie — en dehors de la mort, en dehors d’une misère abjecte, en dehors du refuge auprès d’autrui, et en dehors d’une conduite mesquine et basse. S’il est un remède plus noble, déclare-le-moi.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical search for a dignified path: Bhīṣma asks for a remedy that avoids extremes like death, degrading poverty, servile dependence, and base behavior—implying that dharma should preserve both moral integrity and human dignity.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction setting, Bhīṣma speaks as a teacher-figure and presses for guidance on an alternative course of action—seeking a higher, dharmic solution rather than resorting to despair, humiliation, or ignoble conduct.