Shloka 17
आपद्धर्मे कोशबलन्यायः | Treasury, Force, and Crisis-Ethics for the King
दुर्लभ: स मया द्रष्टमाशा च महती मम । तया परीतगात्रो5हं मुमूर्षुर्नात्र संशय:
durlabhaḥ sa mayā dṛṣṭam āśā ca mahatī mama | tayā parītagātro ’haṃ mumūrṣur nātra saṃśayaḥ ||
“ಅವನ ದರ್ಶನ ನನಗೆ ದುರ್ಳಭ; ಆದರೂ ಅವನನ್ನು ಭೇಟಿಯಾಗುವ ಮಹಾ ಆಶೆ ನನ್ನ ಹೃದಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಉದಯಿಸಿದೆ. ಆ ಆಶೆಯೇ ನನ್ನ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ದೇಹ-ಮನಸ್ಸನ್ನು ಆವರಿಸಿದೆ. ಸಂಶಯವಿಲ್ಲ—ಅವನಿಗಾಗಿ ಮರಣವನ್ನೂ ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸಲು ನಾನು ಸಿದ್ಧನಿದ್ದೇನೆ.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Intense aspiration toward a revered goal—especially the wish for the ‘darśana’ of a worthy person or ideal—can so fully possess the mind and body that one becomes willing to sacrifice even life; the verse highlights the ethical power of steadfast longing and single-pointed resolve.
Bhishma, speaking in the Shanti Parva, expresses that although seeing the person he longs for is difficult, his hope of meeting remains immense; that hope overwhelms him, and he declares himself ready to embrace death for the sake of that meeting.