Shloka 148
आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः
Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca
कृतं मृगयसे शत्रुं सुखोपायमसंशयम् । “बुद्धिमानू लोमश! जो तुम आज जालके बन्धनसे छूटनेके बाद ही कृतज्ञतावश मुझ अपने शत्रुको सुख पहुँचानेका असंदिग्ध उपाय ढूँढ़ने लगे हो
kṛtaṃ mṛgayase śatruṃ sukhopāyam asaṃśayam | asmin nilaya eva tvaṃ nyagrodhād avatāritaḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「疑いなく、おまえは為された行いへの返礼として、敵である者にさえ益をもたらす、確かなしかも穏やかな手立てを求めている。だが、まさにこの住み処で、おまえは榕樹（バニヤン）から引き下ろされたのだ。罠から解き放たれた後、なぜおまえは感謝の念ゆえに、敵であるこの私に安らぎを与える道を、かくも急いで探すのか。恩に報いるという点では、我らは等しい。私がおまえを危難から救ったなら、おまえもまた私を同じような危難から救った。ならば、なぜおまえだけが返礼を急ぎ、私は何もせぬのか。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical reciprocity and the subtlety of gratitude: when kindness has been mutually exchanged, one should reflect on whether further repayment is truly owed or whether it becomes performative. It also probes the tension between enmity and moral obligation—benefiting even an enemy can be grounded in dharma rather than self-interest.
Bhishma addresses another character (named Lomasha in the received Hindi gloss) who, after being freed from a trap, seeks a sure way to benefit Bhishma despite calling him an enemy. Bhishma questions the urgency to repay, noting that both have already saved each other from danger, and points to the immediate setting: the same dwelling and the banyan tree from which the other was brought down.