Shloka 19
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
“तुम्हें वरूणके पाशसे बाँधा गया, वज़से घायल किया गया तथा तुम्हारी स्त्री और धनका भी अपहरण कर लिया गया; फिर भी बोलो, तुम्हें शोक कैसे नहीं होता है? ।।
tvaṁ varuṇasya pāśena baddho vajreṇa ca tāḍitaḥ | bhāryā-dhanaṁ ca te hṛtaṁ tathāpi brūhi kathaṁ na śocasi || naṣṭaśrī-vibhavo bhraṣṭo yan na śocasi duṣkaram | trailokya-rājya-nāśe hi ko 'nyo jīvitum utsahet ||
Engkau telah diikat oleh jerat Varuṇa, dihantam oleh vajra, bahkan istri dan hartamu pun dirampas—katakanlah, bagaimana mungkin engkau tidak berduka? Bahwa engkau, jatuh dari kemakmuran dan kuasa, tidak meratap, sungguh perkara yang amat sukar; sebab bila kedaulatan atas tiga dunia pun lenyap, siapa lagi selain engkau yang masih berhasrat untuk hidup?
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights extraordinary steadiness of mind: even after severe losses—bondage, injury, and the abduction of wife and wealth—one may remain unshaken. Bhīṣma frames such non-grieving as rare, implicitly pointing to inner resilience and detachment from external fortune as a high ethical attainment.
Bhīṣma addresses a person who has suffered extreme reversals—divine restraint (Varuṇa’s noose), a devastating blow (the thunderbolt), and the loss of family and property. He expresses astonishment that the person does not grieve, arguing that even the loss of universal sovereignty would normally crush one’s will to live.