Shloka 45
'सुन्दरियो! यह ब्रह्महत्या इन्द्रके पाससे आयी है। तुमलोग मेरे कहनेसे इसका एक चतुर्थाश ग्रहण कर लो” ।। अप्सरस ऊचु: ग्रहणे कृतबुद्धीनां देवेश तव शासनात् | मोक्ष समयतो<स्माकं चिन्तयस्व पितामह,अप्सराएँ बोलीं--देवेश पितामह! आपकी आज्ञासे हमने इस ब्रह्महत्याको ग्रहण कर लेनेका विचार किया है, किंतु इससे हमारे छुटकारेके समयका भी विचार करनेकी कृपा करें
Bhīṣma uvāca: “Sundariyo! iyaṃ brahmahatyā Indrasya pāśāt āgatā. yūyaṃ mama vacanāt asyāḥ ekaṃ caturthāṃśaṃ gṛhṇīta.” Apsarasa ūcuḥ: “Grahāṇe kṛtabuddhīnām, deveśa, tava śāsanāt; mokṣa-samayataḥ asmākaṃ cintayasva, pitāmaha.”
Bhīṣma disse: “Ó belas! Este pecado de brahma-hatyā (matar um brâmane) veio do lado de Indra. Por minha palavra, tomai sobre vós um quarto dele.” As Apsarās responderam: “Ó Senhor dos deuses, venerável Avô! Em obediência ao teu comando, resolvemos aceitá-lo; mas roga-se que consideres também o tempo e o meio pelos quais poderemos ser libertas dele.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when a burden (especially moral or ritual impurity) is distributed by authority, those who accept it may rightly seek a defined path and time of release; ethical responsibility includes not only bearing consequences but also ensuring a just means of purification and restoration.
Bhishma recounts a situation where the sin of brahma-slaughter associated with Indra is to be apportioned; he instructs the Apsarases to take a quarter-share. They agree out of obedience but request that their eventual release from that sin also be arranged.