Shloka 10
Śakra–Śambara Saṃvāda: Brāhmaṇa-sevā, Anasūyā, and Vāg-bala (शक्रशम्बरसंवादः)
मुझे इनका अन्त दिखायी नहीं देता। इनके लिये किसी भी दिशाका द्वार बंद नहीं है। ये जिस समय क्रोधमें भर जाते हैं उस समय दावानलकी लपटोंके समान हो जाते हैं और वैसी ही दाहक दृष्टिसे देखने लगते हैं ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | na me teṣām antaḥ pratyakṣo bhavati | na teṣāṁ diśāṁ prati kaścid dvāra-nirodhaḥ | yadā te krodhena samāviṣṭā bhavanti tadā dāvāgnijvālā-sadṛśā bhavanti tathā ca dāhakayā dṛṣṭyā paśyanti || bibhyaty eṣāṁ sāhasikā guṇās teṣām atīva hi | kūpā iva tṛṇacchannā viśuddhā dyaur ivāpare ||
ビーシュマは言った。「この者たちの限りを、私は見定めることができぬ。いずれの方角にも、彼らに閉ざされた門はない。怒りに満ちるとき、彼らは林野の火災の炎舌のごとくとなり、灼けつく眼差しで見据える。大胆不敵な者でさえ彼らを畏れる。内に宿す徳の卓越が、あまりにも大きいからだ。この婆羅門たちのうち、ある者は草に覆われた井戸のように力を隠し、またある者は澄みわたる空のように、清らかに明らかに輝き続ける。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights the formidable spiritual and moral potency attributed to brāhmaṇas: their virtues and inner power can be so great that even the brave fear them, especially when anger is unleashed. He also distinguishes between those who conceal their strength in humility and those whose purity and influence are openly evident.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhīṣma is describing a class of brāhmaṇas and their nature—unbounded in capability, terrifying when enraged, and varied in outward expression: some hide their radiance like a grass-covered well, while others shine like the clear sky.