Shloka 2
Dvaipāyana–Kīṭa Saṃvāda: Karmic Memory, Fear of Death, and Embodied Pleasure
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! तदनन्तर महातेजस्वी और वक्ताओंमें श्रेष्ठ राजा युधिष्ठिरने बाणशय्यापर पड़े हुए पितामह भीष्मसे पुनः प्रश्न किया ।।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | ṛṣayo brāhmaṇā devāḥ praśaṃsanti mahāmate | ahiṃsālakṣaṇaṃ dharmaṃ vedaprāmāṇyadarśanāt | nṛpaśreṣṭha! pṛcchāmi manovākkāyakarmabhiḥ | hiṃsām evācaran martyaḥ kathaṃ duḥkhāt pramucyate ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Wahai yang berhati luhur! Para resi, brahmana, dan para dewa—berdasarkan kewibawaan Weda—senantiasa memuji dharma yang bertanda ahiṃsā (tanpa kekerasan). Maka, wahai raja terbaik, aku bertanya: bagaimana mungkin seorang manusia yang dengan pikiran, ucapan, dan perbuatan hanya melakukan kekerasan dapat terbebas dari derita yang timbul karenanya?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Non-violence is presented as a Veda-endorsed hallmark of dharma, and Yudhiṣṭhira frames ethics as comprehensive—covering intention (mind), expression (speech), and conduct (body). The question highlights karmic consequence: persistent violence across these three levels binds one to suffering, so liberation requires reform at all three.
After the war, Bhīṣma lies on his bed of arrows, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. In this chapter, Yudhiṣṭhira again questions Bhīṣma, citing the praise of ahiṃsā by sages, Brahmins, and gods, and asks how a person devoted to violence in thought, word, and deed could ever escape the resulting misery.