Shloka 18
Gautama–Yama Saṃvāda: Mātṛ-Pitṛ-Ṛṇa (Debt to Parents) and Śubha-Loka Attainment
भवत् तपोविघधातो वा यदि स्याद् विरमे ततः । यदि वास्ति कथायोगो योडयं प्रश्नो मयेरित:
bhavat tapovighadhāto vā yadi syād virame tataḥ | yadi vāsti kathāyogo yo 'yaṃ praśno mayeritaḥ |
भवत् तपोविघातो वा यदि स्याद् विरमे ततः। यदि वास्ति कथायोगो योऽयं प्रश्नो मयेरितः॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A seeker should inquire with humility and sensitivity: if one’s questions hinder another’s spiritual discipline, one should pause; if there is proper occasion, one should pursue clarification through respectful dialogue and collective deliberation.
Bhīṣma, engaged in a serious inquiry, addresses ascetics (implied by the context) and asks whether his questioning disrupts their tapas. If not, he requests that they take time to discuss and resolve the doubt he has raised, especially concerning the grounds of hope and the limits of human capability.