Shloka 71

Devanagari script

अमानुषीषु गोवर्ज्यमनावृष्टिन दुष्पति । अधिष्ठात्रवमन्तारं पशूनां पुरुषं विदु:,पशु जातियोंमें गौओंको छोड़कर अन्य किसीकी अनजानमें हिंसा हो जाय तो वह दोषावह नहीं मानी जाती; क्योंकि मनुष्यको पशुओंका अधिष्ठाता एवं पालक माना गया है

Transliteration

amānuṣīṣu go-varjyam anāvṛṣṭin na duṣpati | adhiṣṭhātāram antāraṁ paśūnāṁ puruṣaṁ viduḥ ||

Translation

भीष्म म्हणाले—मनुष्येतर प्राण्यांच्या बाबतीत, गायीला वगळून, अनवधानाने इजा झाली तर ती दोष मानली जात नाही; कारण परंपरेनुसार मनुष्य हा पशूंचा अधिष्ठाता व पालनकर्ता मानला जातो—आणि गायीला विशेष संरक्षण आहे.

Word by Word

अमानुषीषुamong non-human (creatures)

गोवर्ज्यम्excluding cows

अनावृष्टिनाby lack of rain / by drought

दुष्पतिa bad lord/king; evil master

अधिष्ठातारम्overseer, superintendent

अवन्तारम्protector, guardian

पशूनाम्of animals

पुरुषम्man, human being

विदुःthey know / they consider

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

puruṣa (human being)

paśu (animals)

go (cow/cows)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Moral culpability depends on intention and on one’s dharmic role: accidental harm to animals is treated as less blameworthy, yet cows are given special protected status, and humans are reminded that they are responsible guardians of animal life.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s dharma-instruction discourse in the Śānti Parva, he clarifies a rule about unintended injury to animals, distinguishing general cases from the exceptional sanctity/protection accorded to cows and grounding the rule in the human duty of oversight and care.