Shloka 17
प्रतिग्रहभेदः — The Distinction between Giving and Accepting
Vṛṣādarbhī–Saptarṣi Dialogue
अकृतं मुनिश्रि: पूर्व कि मयेदमनुछितम् । कथं नु शापेन न मां दहेयुत्राह्मिणा इति
akṛtaṁ muniśriḥ pūrvaṁ kiṁ mayedam anucitam | kathaṁ nu śāpena na māṁ daheyur brāhmaṇā iti | aho! munibhir yaḥ kāryaḥ pūrvaṁ kadācid api na kṛtaḥ sa mayāiva kṛtaḥ | mama asya manomaya-vyavahārasya darśanāt brāhmaṇāḥ śāpena māṁ kuto na bhasma-kuryuḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「なぜ私は、この不相応な行い——聖仙たちがかつて為さなかったことを——してしまったのか。どうしてバラモンたちは、その呪詛で私を焼き尽くし灰にしないのか。ああ、ただ私ひとりが、先見の賢者たちの未だ試みぬことを行ってしまった。かくも我が身勝手な振る舞いを見て、なぜバラモンたちは呪いの言葉で私を灰燼に帰さぬであろうか。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a powerful person must remain within dharma and social-ethical propriety (aucitya). When one knowingly performs an improper, unprecedented act, remorse and fear of moral consequence naturally arise; the verse underscores accountability before the spiritual-ethical authority represented by sages and brahmins.
Bhishma reflects with self-reproach on having committed an improper deed—one that even sages had not done. He wonders why the brahmins have not cursed him to ashes, expressing anxiety about the spiritual and ethical repercussions of his willful conduct.