Shloka 16
आपद्धर्मे कोशबलन्यायः | Treasury, Force, and Crisis-Ethics for the King
दुर्लभ: स मया द्र॒ष्ट नूनं परमधार्मिक: । एक: पुत्रो महारण्ये नष्ट इत्यसकृत् तदा
durlabhaḥ sa mayā draṣṭuṃ nūnaṃ paramadhārmikaḥ | ekaḥ putro mahāraṇye naṣṭa iti asakṛt tadā ||
“वह परम धर्मात्मा था; अब उसका दर्शन मेरे लिए निश्चय ही दुर्लभ है। मेरा तो एक ही पुत्र था, और वह इस विशाल वन में खो गया”—ऐसी बातें वे तब बार-बार दुहराते रहते थे।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how even a highly dharmic person can be overwhelmed by grief and attachment; repeated lamentation shows the human side of righteousness and invites compassion rather than judgment.
Bhīṣma recounts a scene where a very righteous man repeatedly laments that his only son has gone missing in a vast forest, implying separation and the difficulty of meeting him again.