Shloka 15
Treasury Security, Protection of Informants, and the Kalakavṛkṣīya Exemplum (Śānti Parva 83)
तेन विप्रकृता: सर्वे राजयुक्ता: कुरूद्वह । तमस्यभिप्रसुप्तस्य निशि काकमवेधयन्
tena viprakṛtāḥ sarve rājayuktāḥ kurūdvaha | tamasy abhiprasuptasya niśi kākam avedhayan ||
Wahai yang utama di antara para Kuru, semua abdi istana yang tersinggung oleh sang resi, pada malam yang gelap ketika resi itu terlelap, memanah gagaknya yang sedang tidur hingga mati.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Humiliation and wounded pride can provoke disproportionate retaliation; dharma requires restraint and discernment, especially for those connected with royal authority, because impulsive violence quickly becomes adharma.
After being slighted by a sage, the king’s attendants act at night in the dark and shoot a sleeping crow with an arrow, killing it—an act presented as a morally blameworthy response born from resentment.