Shloka 44
मृत्यु-काल-प्रबोधनम् (Instruction on Mortality, Time, and Truth) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 169
चक्राड्रभारस्कन्धं तं धनुष्पाणिं धृतायुधम् । रुधिरेणावसिक्ताड़ुं गृहद्वारमुपागतम्
cakrādrabhāraskandhaṁ taṁ dhanuṣpāṇiṁ dhṛtāyudham | rudhireṇāvasiktāṅgaṁ gṛhadvāram upāgatam ||
ビーシュマは言った。「彼は家の戸口に現れた――肩には車輪と山を負うかのごとき重荷、手には弓、武器を固く握り、四肢は血に濡れていた。その姿は人喰いの羅刹のようであり、ブラーフマナの位と行いから堕した者のように見えた。かくのごとき有様で家に来た彼を見て、ブラーフマナは彼を認めた。認めるや、深い羞恥に打たれ、次のように語りかけた。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how outward acts of violence and weapon-bearing—especially when accompanied by bloodshed—can signify a collapse of brāhmaṇa-appropriate conduct, provoking social and inner shame; it frames dharma not merely as birth-status but as lived restraint and ethical comportment.
A man arrives at a brāhmaṇa’s house door carrying weapons, bow in hand, and drenched in blood, appearing terrifying like a rākṣasa. The brāhmaṇa recognizes him, feels deep embarrassment, and then speaks to him—setting up a moral confrontation about his fallen condition.