Shloka 11
दमप्रशंसा — Praise of Self-Restraint
Dama
शुक्रतो रसतश्रैव देहाज्जायन्ति जन्तव: । स्वभावात् कर्मयोगाद् वा तानुपेक्षेत बुद्धिमान्
śukrato rasataś caiva dehāj jāyanti jantavaḥ | svabhāvāt karmayogād vā tān upekṣeta buddhimān ||
Bhishma dit : Les êtres vivants naissent du corps : les uns de la semence, les autres des humeurs corporelles (comme la sueur). Leur venue à l’existence procède soit de la nature innée, soit de la conjonction des actes passés et de leur destin en cours d’action. Aussi le sage doit-il demeurer détaché et ne pas se laisser entraîner par le souci d’eux.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches dispassion: since beings arise through natural processes and the working out of karma, the wise should not become mentally entangled—maintaining equanimity and non-attachment (upekṣā) toward such occurrences.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. Here he frames the arising of living beings as a natural/karma-driven process and advises the listener to respond with detached discernment rather than fixation or anxiety.