Shloka 4
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
दुःखिता: केचिदादाय बालमप्राप्तयौवनम् । कुलसर्वस्वभूतं वै रुदन््त: शोकविह्दला:,जिसने युवावस्थामें अभी प्रवेश ही नहीं किया था तथा जो अपने कुलका सर्वस्व था, उस मरे हुए बालकको लेकर उसके कुछ दुखी बान्धव शोकसे व्याकुल हो फ़ूट-फ़ूटकर रोने लगे
duḥkhitāḥ kecid ādāya bālam aprāptayauvanam | kulasarvasvabhūtaṃ vai rudantaḥ śokavihvalāḥ ||
ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ಯೌವನವನ್ನು ಇನ್ನೂ ತಲುಪದ, ಕುಲದ ಸರ್ವಸ್ವವೆಂದು ಎಣಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟ ಆ ಬಾಲಕನ ಶವವನ್ನು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಕೆಲ ಬಂಧುಗಳು ಶೋಕದಿಂದ ವ್ಯಾಕುಲರಾಗಿ ಜೋರಾಗಿ ಅತ್ತರು.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the intensity of human sorrow when death comes before life’s expected stages, especially when a child embodies a family’s hopes. It implicitly points to the ethical need for steadiness and compassion in the face of impermanence.
Bhishma describes a poignant scene: relatives lift and carry the dead body of a boy who had not yet reached youth, and they cry loudly, shaken and overwhelmed by grief, because he was considered the family’s greatest treasure.