Shloka 35
Ajagara-vrata (The ‘Python’ Discipline): Prahrāda Questions a Wandering Sage
इमं हत्वा गृहीत्वा च यास्ये5हं समभिद्रुतम्
imaṁ hatvā gṛhītvā ca yāsye ’haṁ samabhidrutam
Bhīṣma dit : «L’ayant tué et m’en étant emparé, je partirai sur-le-champ, au plus vite.» Ainsi, accablé par l’angoisse —«par quel moyen préserver maintenant ma vie ?»—, cet ingrat, ne voyant aucune nourriture sur la route, se dit en lui-même : «Le roi des hérons, Rājadharmā, est ici avec moi. Il est un grand tas de chair. Je le tuerai, je m’en saisirai, et je quitterai vite cet endroit.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Need and fear do not justify adharma: betraying a protector or benefactor is condemned as kṛtaghnatā (ingratitude). The episode highlights that dharma includes gratitude, restraint, and fidelity to trust, even under pressure.
A desperate, hungry man finds no food on the road and decides to kill and carry off Rājadharmā, the king of herons who is with him, rationalizing that the bird is ‘a great heap of flesh.’ The line quoted captures his resolve to kill, seize, and flee quickly.