Shloka 18
भरद्वाजपुत्रवधः
The Slaying of Bharadvāja’s Son and the Sage’s Lament
परासुश्न सुतो दृष्ट: शप्तश्नेष्ट: सखा मया । ईदृशीमापदं कोजत्र द्वितीयोडनुभविष्यति,मैंने अपने पुत्रकी मृत्यु देखी और प्रिय मित्रको शाप दे दिया। मेरे सिवा संसारमें दूसरा कौन-सा मनुष्य है जो ऐसी विपत्तिका अनुभव करेगा
parāsuśna-suto dṛṣṭaḥ śaptaśneṣṭaḥ sakhā mayā | īdṛśīm āpadaṃ ko 'tra dvitīyo 'nubhaviṣyati ||
Bharadvāja said: “I have seen my own son die, and in my anguish I have cursed a beloved friend. Who else in this world, besides me, will ever have to endure a calamity of this kind?”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how grief can drive even a sage to harmful speech (a curse), and it implicitly warns about the ethical weight and irreversible consequences of words spoken in anguish.
Bharadvāja speaks of his personal tragedy: he has witnessed his son’s death and, overwhelmed, has cursed a dear friend; he then laments that no one else could face such compounded misfortune.