Shloka 6
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
शोचन्तस्तस्य पूर्वोक्तान् भाषितांश्वासकृत् पुन: । तं बाल॑ भूतले क्षिप्य प्रतिगन्तुं न शकनुयु:
śocantastasya pūrvoktān bhāṣitān śvāsakṛt punaḥ | taṃ bālaṃ bhūtale kṣipya pratigantuṃ na śaknu yuḥ ||
彼らは嘆き、息も詰まるほどの悲しみのうちに、かつてその子が口にした言葉を幾度も幾度も思い返した。ゆえに、火葬場の地にその子を横たえた後でさえ、背を向けて立ち去ることができなかった—慈しみと追憶に縛られていたのである。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how remembrance and compassion can overpower mere ritual completion: grief makes people linger, unable to detach even after performing the outward act. It implicitly points to the ethical depth of human bonds and the difficulty of letting go.
Bhīṣma describes mourners who, repeatedly recalling the child’s earlier words, become overwhelmed with sorrow. Even after placing the child down on the ground (understood in context as the cremation-ground setting), they cannot bring themselves to return home.