Shloka 99
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
चिताधूमेन नीलेन संरज्यन्ते च पादपा: । श्मशाने च निराहारा: प्रतिनर्दन्ति देहिन:
citādhūmena nīlena saṃrajyante ca pādapāḥ | śmaśāne ca nirāhārāḥ pratinardanti dehinaḥ ||
「葬送の火葬壇から立つ青黒い煙に染められ、この地の樹々はその色を帯びた。さらにこの火葬場では、食を要せずに在る者ども――さまよう霊やプレータ（餓鬼）など――が応えるように咆哮している。」
गृध्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical and contemplative force of mortality: the cremation-ground’s smoke stains even the surrounding trees, reminding one that death’s presence permeates the world. Such imagery urges detachment, sobriety, and a dharmic awareness of impermanence.
The vulture describes a cremation-ground scene: smoke from pyres has darkened the trees, and uncanny, hungerless beings (understood in context as restless spirits) are making loud, echoing cries—an atmosphere of dread and inauspiciousness.