Shloka 17
अपेय: सागरो येषामपि शापान्महात्मनाम् | येषां कोपाग्निरद्यापि दण्डके नोपशाम्यति,उन्हीं महात्माओंके शापसे समुद्रका पानी पीनेयोग्य नहीं रहा। उनकी क्रोधाग्नि दण्डकारण्यमें आजतक शान्त नहीं हुई
apeyaḥ sāgaro yeṣām api śāpān mahātmanām | yeṣāṁ kopāgnir adyāpi daṇḍake nopaśāmyati ||
ビーシュマは言った。「あの大魂の聖仙たちの呪いによって、海の水さえ飲めぬものとなった。しかも彼らの憤怒の火は、檀陀迦の森において、今日に至るも鎮まってはいない。」この偈は、苦行の清浄がもつ道徳的威力を示す。ダルマが踏みにじられるとき、霊力ある者の義憤は久しく残り、世界をも変えると語られるのである。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that moral and spiritual authority (especially of disciplined sages) is not merely personal but cosmic in consequence: a righteous curse can reshape the world, and unrestrained anger born of adharma can endure across time and place. It implicitly urges reverence for dharma and restraint, since violations invite lasting repercussions.
Bhishma is citing an illustrative example: certain great sages, wronged or provoked, pronounced a curse that rendered the ocean’s water undrinkable, and their ‘fire of wrath’ is said to remain unextinguished in the Dandaka region. The statement functions as a moral exemplum within Bhishma’s instruction.