Shloka 57
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
छिन्दन् भिन्दन् रुजन् कृन्तन् दारयन् पोथयन्नपि
chindan bhindan rujan kṛntan dārayan pothayann api
Bhīṣma disse: “Mesmo ao cortar, fender, esmagar, retalhar, rasgar e golpear—atos que evocam a aspereza da violência—deve-se compreender o peso moral de tais feitos e a disciplina necessária para contê-los dentro do dharma.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse strings together verbs of injury to foreground the reality of violence; in Śānti Parva this typically serves to frame an ethical discussion: even when force is employed, it must be governed by dharma, restraint, and accountability rather than impulse or cruelty.
Bhīṣma, instructing in Śānti Parva, uses a rapid list of violent actions—cutting, splitting, crushing, hacking, tearing, striking—as a rhetorical buildup, likely leading into guidance about the limits, consequences, or regulation of harmful acts within righteous conduct.