Shloka 16
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
नावश्यायो5पि तत्रा भूत् कुत एवाभ्रजातय: । नद्य: संक्षिप्ततोयौघा: किंचिदन्तर्गतास्तत:,उन दिनों कुहासा भी नहीं होता था, फिर बादल कहाँसे उत्पन्न होते। नदियोंका जलप्रवाह अत्यन्त क्षीण हो गया और कितनी ही नदियाँ अदृश्य हो गयीं
nāvasyāyo 'pi tatrābhūt kuta evābhrajātayaḥ | nadyaḥ saṃkṣiptatoyaughāḥ kiṃcid antargatās tataḥ ||
त्या दिवसांत तिथे दवही पडत नसे—मग ढग कुठून निर्माण होणार? नद्यांचे जलप्रवाह आटले आणि तेव्हापासून कित्येक नद्या अंतर्धान पावल्यासारख्या झाल्या.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links moral and cosmic order with the stability of nature: when conditions become disordered, even basic cycles like mist, cloud-formation, and river-flow fail. It supports the Shanti Parva’s broader ethic that dharma sustains prosperity, while adharma leads to scarcity and collapse.
Bhīṣma describes a severe drying of the world: no mist arises, hence no clouds form, rainfall fails, and rivers shrink or vanish. The imagery functions as a warning-sign of a larger breakdown in the natural and social order being discussed in his instruction.