Shloka 17
Bhīṣma on the Śara-Śayyā: Yudhiṣṭhira and Kṛṣṇa Approach the Eldest for Śānti
काम॑ नैतत् तवाख्येयं प्राणिनां प्रभवाप्ययौ । उपदेष्टूं भवान् शक्तो देवानामपि भारत
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: kāmaṁ naitat tavākhyeyaṁ prāṇināṁ prabhavāpyayau | upadeṣṭuṁ bhavān śakto devānām api bhārata ||
ഭാരതാ! ജീവികളുടെ ജനനവും മരണവും വിധിയാൽ നിശ്ചിതമാണെന്ന് നിങ്ങളോട് പറയുന്നത് യുക്തമല്ല. നിങ്ങളെ ഉപദേശിക്കാൻ ആരുണ്ട്? നിങ്ങൾ ദേവന്മാർക്കുപോലും ഉപദേശം നൽകാൻ ശേഷിയുള്ളവൻ.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse cautions against offering a simplistic, fate-only explanation for birth and death to a highly discerning listener; it emphasizes the listener’s own capacity for moral and spiritual discernment, implying that true counsel must match the recipient’s wisdom and responsibility.
Vaiśampāyana, narrating the discourse of Śānti Parva, remarks that it is not fitting to lecture the addressed Bhārata with a deterministic platitude about destiny; instead, he acknowledges the addressee’s exceptional authority—one who could instruct even the gods.