Shloka 44
मृत्यु-काल-प्रबोधनम् (Instruction on Mortality, Time, and Truth) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 169
चक्राड्रभारस्कन्धं तं धनुष्पाणिं धृतायुधम् । रुधिरेणावसिक्ताड़ुं गृहद्वारमुपागतम्
cakrādrabhāraskandhaṁ taṁ dhanuṣpāṇiṁ dhṛtāyudham | rudhireṇāvasiktāṅgaṁ gṛhadvāram upāgatam ||
उसने देखा—गौतम कंधे पर भारी बोझ (मारे हुए हंस का शव) धारण किए, हाथ में धनुष लिए, अस्त्र-शस्त्र से सुसज्जित, और रक्त से लथपथ देह के साथ घर के द्वार पर आ पहुँचा है। उस अवस्था में वह मानो नरभक्षी राक्षस-सा और ब्राह्मण-धर्म से च्युत प्रतीत होता था।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how outward acts of violence and weapon-bearing—especially when accompanied by bloodshed—can signify a collapse of brāhmaṇa-appropriate conduct, provoking social and inner shame; it frames dharma not merely as birth-status but as lived restraint and ethical comportment.
A man arrives at a brāhmaṇa’s house door carrying weapons, bow in hand, and drenched in blood, appearing terrifying like a rākṣasa. The brāhmaṇa recognizes him, feels deep embarrassment, and then speaks to him—setting up a moral confrontation about his fallen condition.