Shloka 171
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
न पाणिथ्यां न बाहुभ्यां पादोरुभ्यां न चानघ । न गात्रावयवैरन्यै: स्पृशामि त्वां नराधिप
na pāṇibhyāṁ na bāhubhyāṁ pādorubhyāṁ na cānagha | na gātrāvayavair anyaiḥ spṛśāmi tvāṁ narādhipa || niṣpāpa nareśa ||
Wahai raja yang tak bercela, aku tidak menyentuhmu dengan tangan, tidak dengan lengan, tidak dengan kaki atau paha, dan tidak pula dengan anggota tubuhku yang lain.
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes bodily restraint and ethical propriety: even physical contact can be governed by dharma, and a speaker may explicitly affirm non-contact to maintain purity, respect, or a vow-bound boundary in a royal-ethical context.
Bhīṣma addresses a king with honorifics (“blameless,” “sinless”) and declares that he is not touching him with any part of his body—hands, arms, feet, thighs, or any other limbs—marking a deliberate stance of non-contact within the ongoing instruction and moral discourse of the Śānti Parva.