Shloka 89
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
इमं क्षितितले त्यक्त्वा बाल॑ रूपसमन्वितम्
imaṃ kṣititale tyaktvā bāla-rūpa-samanvitam | yaḥ sundaraḥ bālakaḥ tumhāre kulakī śobhā baḍhāne-vālā hai | ayaṃ rūpa-yauvanena sampannaḥ tathā svayā kāntyā prakāśitaḥ | mūrkhāḥ! asya putrasya pṛthivyāṃ nikṣepya yūyaṃ kva gamiṣyatha?
ジャムブカは言った。「この幼子——少年の姿を具えた者——を地に投げ捨てておきながら、どこへ行けると思うのか。この美しい子は汝らの家系の栄えを増す者である。容姿と若さを備え、自らの光で輝いている。愚か者どもよ！ この子を大地に捨てたのち、いかなる拠り所、いかなる行き先をなお名乗れるというのか。」
जम्बुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns abandoning a helpless child and frames such an act as a grave ethical failure. It emphasizes dharma as protection of the vulnerable and warns that those who commit cruelty cannot claim a righteous destination or refuge.
Jambuka rebukes people who have thrown a radiant, promising boy onto the ground. He highlights the child’s beauty and potential to bring honor to the family, and challenges the perpetrators by asking where they expect to go after committing such a heartless act.