Shloka 92
आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः
Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca
कि सौम्य नातित्वरसे कि कृतार्थोडवमन्यसे । छिन्धि पाशानमित्रघ्न पुरा श्वपच एति च
ki saumya nātitvarase ki kṛtārtho ’vamanyase | chindhi pāśān amitraghna purā śvapaca eti ca ||
«Meu bom amigo, por que não te apressas? Será que, por já teres alcançado teu intento, agora me desprezas? Ó destruidor de inimigos, corta já estas amarras—antes que chegue o śvapaca (o pária, o comedor de cães).»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights urgency in righteous action and the ethical weight of how one treats a dependent or restrained person; it also reflects the tension between personal dignity and prevailing social stigma attached to an outcaste’s approach.
Bhīṣma addresses someone he calls ‘dear one’ and ‘slayer of foes,’ reproaching him for delaying and seeming to ignore him; he urges him to cut Bhīṣma’s bonds quickly, before an outcaste (śvapaca/caṇḍāla) arrives.