Shloka 21
Adhyāya 9: Pratiśruta-Dāna
The Duty to Fulfill Promised Gifts
पृथ्वीनाथ! ब्राह्मणको पहले आशा दे देनेपर वह समिधासे प्रज्वलित हुई अग्निके समान उद्दीप्त हो उठता है ।।
pṛthvīnātha! brāhmaṇako pahale āśā de denepara vaha samidhā-se prajvalita huī agni ke samāna uddīpta ho uṭhatā hai. yaṁ nirīkṣeta saṁkruddha āśayā pūrvajātayā | pradhec ca hi taṁ rājan kakṣam akṣayya-bhug yathā ||
Bhishma berkata: “Wahai penguasa bumi! Bila seorang brāhmana mula-mula diberi harapan, ia menyala hebat bagaikan api yang diberi kayu bakar. Namun, wahai raja, bila harapan yang lebih dahulu itu kemudian dipatahkan, brāhmana yang terbakar amarah dapat menghanguskan siapa pun yang dipandangnya—seperti api yang tak pernah kenyang melalap tumpukan rumput kering atau kayu-kayu.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must be extremely careful about giving assurances to a Brahmin (and, by extension, to any worthy person). Creating hope and then breaking it is portrayed as a grave ethical failure that provokes destructive consequences—like fire once kindled.
Bhishma instructs the king using a vivid simile: a Brahmin, once encouraged by hope, becomes ‘kindled’; if that hope is thwarted, his anger becomes dangerously potent, capable of ‘burning’ the offender like an inexhaustible fire consuming dry fuel.