Shloka 19
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
“तुम्हें वरूणके पाशसे बाँधा गया, वज़से घायल किया गया तथा तुम्हारी स्त्री और धनका भी अपहरण कर लिया गया; फिर भी बोलो, तुम्हें शोक कैसे नहीं होता है? ।।
tvaṁ varuṇasya pāśena baddho vajreṇa ca tāḍitaḥ | bhāryā-dhanaṁ ca te hṛtaṁ tathāpi brūhi kathaṁ na śocasi || naṣṭaśrī-vibhavo bhraṣṭo yan na śocasi duṣkaram | trailokya-rājya-nāśe hi ko 'nyo jīvitum utsahet ||
ພີດສະມະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ເຈົ້າຖືກມັດດ້ວຍບ່ວງບາດຂອງວະຣຸນະ, ຖືກຟາດດ້ວຍວັດຊຣະ, ແມ່ນກະທັ້ງເມຍແລະຊັບຂອງເຈົ້າກໍຖືກພາໄປ. ຈົ່ງບອກເຖີດ—ເຈົ້າຈຶ່ງບໍ່ໂສກໄດ້ແນວໃດ? ຜູ້ຕົກຈາກສິຣີແລະອຳນາດແຕ່ບໍ່ຄຳນຶງໂສກ ແມ່ນເລື່ອງທີ່ຍາກຢິ່ງ. ເພາະຖ້າແມ່ນອານາຈັກເຫນືອສາມໂລກຍັງສູນເສຍໄປ ຈະມີໃຜອື່ນອີກທີ່ຍັງກ້າມີໃຈຢາກມີຊີວິດຢູ່?»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights extraordinary steadiness of mind: even after severe losses—bondage, injury, and the abduction of wife and wealth—one may remain unshaken. Bhīṣma frames such non-grieving as rare, implicitly pointing to inner resilience and detachment from external fortune as a high ethical attainment.
Bhīṣma addresses a person who has suffered extreme reversals—divine restraint (Varuṇa’s noose), a devastating blow (the thunderbolt), and the loss of family and property. He expresses astonishment that the person does not grieve, arguing that even the loss of universal sovereignty would normally crush one’s will to live.