Shloka 36
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
स चिन्तयामास मुनि: कि नु मे सुकृतं भवेत् । कथं वृथा न मृत्यु: स्यादिति पार्थिवसत्तम,नृपश्रेष्ठ अब वे मुनि यह विचार करने लगे कि किस तरह मेरा भला होगा? क्या उपाय किया जाय, जिससे अन्नके बिना मेरी व्यर्थ मृत्यु न हो सके?
sa cintayāmāsa muniḥ ki nu me sukṛtaṃ bhavet | kathaṃ vṛthā na mṛtyuḥ syād iti pārthiva-sattama nṛpa-śreṣṭha |
Bhishma berkata: Resi itu pun merenung: “Kebaikan atau pahala apakah yang masih dapat lahir bagiku? Bagaimanakah agar kematianku tidak menjadi sia-sia?”—demikianlah dia berfikir, wahai raja yang utama.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when facing death, one should examine one’s life through the lens of dharma and seek a meaningful, merit-bearing course of action, so that death is not ‘in vain’ but connected to right intention and ethical purpose.
Bhīṣma narrates that a sage, confronted with the prospect of dying, begins to deliberate about what virtuous act or merit he can still accomplish and how to avoid a pointless death; Bhīṣma addresses the listener respectfully as the best of kings.