Shloka 31
Śulka, Kanyā, and Dauhitra-Riktha: Discourse on Bride-Price and Inheritance Rights (शुल्क-कन्या-दौहित्र-रिक्थविचारः)
लक्षणं लक्षणेनैव वदनं वदनेन च । विधाय न मया चोक्तं सत्यमेतद् गुरोस्तथा
lakṣaṇaṁ lakṣaṇenaiva vadanaṁ vadanena ca | vidhāya na mayā coktaṁ satyam etad guros tathā ||
Bhishma disse: “Meus sentidos se uniram aos sentidos dela, e minha boca à boca dela. Contudo, mesmo após praticar um ato tão impróprio—ainda que para proteger a esposa de meu mestre—não contei ao meu mestre esta verdade.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when an act is motivated by protection or duty, one must examine its propriety and be accountable; withholding truth from one’s guru (or moral authority) becomes an ethical failing, highlighting the tension between intention, action, and truthfulness.
Bhishma recalls an episode in which, to safeguard his teacher’s wife, he entered her body in a subtle manner, resulting in an intimate joining of faculties (senses and mouth). He admits that despite this questionable act, he did not disclose the full truth to his teacher.