Shloka 46
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
जम्बुक उवाच अहो मन्दीकृत: स्नेहो गृप्रेणेहाल्पबुद्धिना । पुत्रस्नेहाभिभूतानां युष्माकं शोचतां भृशम्,इसपर गीदड़ने कहा--अहो! क्या इस मन्दबुद्धि गीधने तुम्हारे स्नेहको शिथिल कर दिया? तुम तो पुत्रस्नेहले अभिभूत होकर उसके लिये बड़ा शोक कर रहे थे
jambuka uvāca aho mandīkṛtaḥ sneho gṛdhreṇehālpabuddhinā | putrasnehābhibhūtānāṃ yuṣmākaṃ śocatāṃ bhṛśam ||
जम्बुक उवाच—अहो मन्दीकृतः स्नेहो गृध्रेणेहाल्पबुद्धिना । पुत्रस्नेहाभिभूतानां युष्माकं शोचतां भृशम् ॥
जम्बुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how powerful attachment—especially parental affection—can intensify grief, and it frames emotional reactions as susceptible to being swayed or ‘dulled’ by misguided counsel. Ethically, it points toward examining whether one’s sorrow and attachment are being manipulated or redirected by those lacking discernment.
Jambuka addresses others who are mourning deeply out of love for a son. He remarks, with irony and reproach, that a foolish vulture seems to have weakened their prior affection or resolve, even though they had been grieving intensely—setting up a moral exchange about grief, attachment, and judgment.