Shloka 42
जीवितार्थी कथं त्वद्य शत्रुभि: प्रार्थितस्त्रिभि: । तस्मादेनमहं शत्रुं मार्जार संश्रयामि वै
jīvitārthī kathaṃ tv adya śatrubhiḥ prārthitas tribhiḥ | tasmād enam ahaṃ śatruṃ mārjāraṃ saṃśrayāmi vai ||
ビーシュマは言った。「命を守りたいこの私が、三人の敵に待ち伏せされている今日、どう振る舞うべきか。ゆえに私は、この敵そのもの—この猫—に身を寄せよう。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a pragmatic ethical tension: when threatened by multiple dangers, one may seek protection even from a hostile party. It points to the complexity of dharma in crisis—choices may be driven by survival, yet they carry moral ambiguity because refuge is taken in an 'enemy'.
A speaker (Bhīṣma, narrating a didactic episode) voices the predicament of being targeted by three enemies at once and concludes that, to save his life, he will resort to the shelter of a cat—explicitly acknowledging the cat as an enemy, yet choosing it as a temporary refuge against greater immediate threats.