Shloka 108
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
तयोर्विज्ञानविदुषोर्द्धयोर्मगपतत्रिणो: । वाक्यैरमृतकल्पैस्तै: प्रतिष्ठन्ति व्रजन्ति च
tayor vijñāna-viduṣor dvayor mṛga-patatriṇoḥ | vākyair amṛta-kalpais taiḥ pratiṣṭhanti vrajanti ca ||
भीष्मजी बोले—उन दोनों में एक पशु था और दूसरा पक्षी; पर दोनों ही विवेक-ज्ञान में निपुण थे। उनके अमृत-तुल्य वचनों से मोहित होकर मृतक के बन्धु कभी ठहर जाते और कभी आगे बढ़ जाते थे।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wise, life-affirming speech can steady a mind shaken by bereavement—sometimes stopping impulsive action, sometimes enabling rightful movement forward—showing that counsel grounded in insight guides conduct amid grief.
Bhīṣma describes a scene where two beings—one an animal and the other a bird—speak profound, ‘nectar-like’ words. Those words affect the mourners (the dead person’s relatives), causing them alternately to pause and then to continue, as their emotions and decisions are shaped by the counsel.