Shloka 17
प्रतिग्रहभेदः — The Distinction between Giving and Accepting
Vṛṣādarbhī–Saptarṣi Dialogue
अकृतं मुनिश्रि: पूर्व कि मयेदमनुछितम् । कथं नु शापेन न मां दहेयुत्राह्मिणा इति
akṛtaṁ muniśriḥ pūrvaṁ kiṁ mayedam anucitam | kathaṁ nu śāpena na māṁ daheyur brāhmaṇā iti | aho! munibhir yaḥ kāryaḥ pūrvaṁ kadācid api na kṛtaḥ sa mayāiva kṛtaḥ | mama asya manomaya-vyavahārasya darśanāt brāhmaṇāḥ śāpena māṁ kuto na bhasma-kuryuḥ ||
“അയ്യോ! മുനിശ്രേഷ്ഠർ മുമ്പൊരിക്കലും ചെയ്തിട്ടില്ലാത്ത ഈ അനുചിതകർമ്മം ഞാൻ എന്തിന് ചെയ്തു? എന്റെ ഈ സ്വേച്ഛാചാരത്തെ കണ്ടിട്ടും ബ്രാഹ്മണർ അവരുടെ ശാപത്തോടെ എന്നെ എന്തുകൊണ്ട് ദഹിപ്പിക്കുന്നില്ല?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a powerful person must remain within dharma and social-ethical propriety (aucitya). When one knowingly performs an improper, unprecedented act, remorse and fear of moral consequence naturally arise; the verse underscores accountability before the spiritual-ethical authority represented by sages and brahmins.
Bhishma reflects with self-reproach on having committed an improper deed—one that even sages had not done. He wonders why the brahmins have not cursed him to ashes, expressing anxiety about the spiritual and ethical repercussions of his willful conduct.