Shloka 6
नृशंस-लक्षणनिर्णयः | Determining the Marks of Cruel Conduct
Nṛśaṃsa
हीनपुष्पाग्रशाखस्त्वं शीर्णाकुरपलाशक: । आत्मदुर्मन्त्रितेनेह मद्वीर्यवशग: कृत:
hīnapuṣpāgraśākhas tvaṁ śīrṇākurapalāśakaḥ | ātma-durmantriteneha mad-vīryavaśagaḥ kṛtaḥ |
Bhīṣma dit : «Te voilà, les extrémités fleuries et les branches ruinées ; tes bourgeons et tes feuilles se sont desséchés et sont tombés. Par ton propre conseil mal avisé, tu as attiré sur toi cette souffrance ici, et tu as été soumis à ma force et à ma vaillance.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ill counsel and poor judgment (durmantrita) lead to self-created ruin; one becomes vulnerable to external force when one’s own discernment fails.
Bhishma quotes a rebuke describing someone (implicitly an addressed party in the exemplum) as stripped of flowers, buds, and leaves—an image of total loss—stating that the misfortune was chosen through one’s own bad decision and has resulted in subjection to another’s power.