Shloka 16
आपद्धर्मे कोशबलन्यायः | Treasury, Force, and Crisis-Ethics for the King
दुर्लभ: स मया द्र॒ष्ट नूनं परमधार्मिक: । एक: पुत्रो महारण्ये नष्ट इत्यसकृत् तदा
durlabhaḥ sa mayā draṣṭuṃ nūnaṃ paramadhārmikaḥ | ekaḥ putro mahāraṇye naṣṭa iti asakṛt tadā ||
Disse Bhīṣma: “Certamente, agora me será difícil tornar a ver aquele homem supremamente justo. ‘Eu tinha apenas um filho, e ele se perdeu nesta vasta floresta’ — eram estas mesmas palavras que ele repetia, vez após vez.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how even a highly dharmic person can be overwhelmed by grief and attachment; repeated lamentation shows the human side of righteousness and invites compassion rather than judgment.
Bhīṣma recounts a scene where a very righteous man repeatedly laments that his only son has gone missing in a vast forest, implying separation and the difficulty of meeting him again.