Shloka 3
Ākiṃcanya–Tyāga Upadeśa
The Instruction on Non-ownership and Renunciation
स तु सार्थो महान् राजन् कम्मिंश्वचिद् गिरिगह्रे । मत्तेन द्विरदेनाथ निहतः प्रायशो5भवत्
sa tu sārtho mahān rājan kammiṁśvacid girigahre | mattena dviradenātha nihataḥ prāyaśo 'bhavat, rājan |
ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಓ ರಾಜನೇ! ಆ ಮಹಾ ಸಾರ್ಥವು ಎಲ್ಲೋ ಒಂದು ಪರ್ವತಗುಹೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಶಿಬಿರ ಹೂಡಿತ್ತು. ಅಷ್ಟರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಮದೋನ್ಮತ್ತ ಗಜವು ದಾಳಿ ಮಾಡಿತು; ಓ ರಾಜನೇ, ಆ ದಾಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾರ್ಥದ ಬಹುಪಾಲು ಜನರು ಹತರಾದರು।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the vulnerability of worldly undertakings to sudden, uncontrollable forces (here, a rutting elephant), setting up an ethical reflection typical of Shanti Parva: prudent conduct and dharmic foresight are needed because calamity can strike without warning.
A large merchant caravan has taken shelter in a mountain cave. A maddened elephant attacks, and most of the caravan’s people are killed, as Bhishma recounts this incident to the king as part of a larger instructive narrative.