Shloka 5
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
बालं॑ मृतं गृहीत्वाथ श्मशानाभिमुखा: स्थिता: । अड्नेनैव च संक्रम्य रुरुदुर्भशदु:खिता:,उस मृत बालकको गोदमें लेकर वे श्मशानकी ओर चले। वहाँ पहुँचकर खड़े हो गये और अत्यन्त दुखी होकर रोने लगे
bālaṃ mṛtaṃ gṛhītvātha śmaśānābhimukhāḥ sthitāḥ | aṅgenaiva ca saṅkramya rurudur bhṛśaduḥkhitāḥ ||
ભીષ્મે કહ્યું—મૃત બાળકને ગોદમાં લઈને તેઓ શ્મશાન તરફ ચાલ્યા. ત્યાં પહોંચી ઊભા રહ્યા અને અત્યંત દુઃખથી રડવા લાગ્યા.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between dharma (the necessary duties connected with death and cremation) and natural human emotion: even when one proceeds to perform the proper rites, grief remains real and powerful, inviting compassion rather than judgment.
People carry a deceased child toward the cremation ground; upon arriving, they stop and cry intensely, depicting a scene of mourning immediately before or at the threshold of funeral rites.