Shloka 18
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
ध्वांक्षपक्षसवर्णस्तु बिलान्नि:सृत्य जम्बुक:ः । गच्छमानान् सम तानाह निर्घणा: खलु मानुषा:
dhvāṅkṣa-pakṣa-savarṇas tu bilān niḥsṛtya jambukaḥ | gacchamānān sa tān āha nirghṛṇāḥ khalu mānuṣāḥ ||
ਇਤਨੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਕਾਂ ਦੇ ਪਰਾਂ ਵਰਗੇ ਕਾਲੇ ਰੰਗ ਦਾ ਇੱਕ ਗਿੱਦੜ ਆਪਣੀ ਮਾਂਦ ਤੋਂ ਨਿਕਲ ਆਇਆ ਅਤੇ ਜਾ ਰਹੇ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਸਗਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਕਹਿਣ ਲੱਗਾ—“ਮਨੁੱਖ ਸੱਚਮੁੱਚ ਬੜੇ ਨਿਰਦਈ ਹਨ!”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral rebuke: cruelty and lack of compassion are condemned as a human failing. By putting the accusation in the mouth of a jackal, the narrative sharpens the ethical contrast—humans, who should uphold dharma, are portrayed as acting more pitilessly than animals.
A crow-dark jackal emerges from its den and calls out to a group of people (described as kinsmen) who are leaving. It directly criticizes them, declaring that humans are merciless—setting up or continuing a didactic episode in Bhishma’s discourse.