Shloka 16
Āśrama-dharma and Brahmacarya: Śuka’s Inquiry on Karma and Tyāga (शुक-प्रश्नः कर्मत्यागविवेकश्च)
अनुनीय यथाकामं सत्यसंधो महाव्रतः । स्वै: प्राणैब्राह्मणप्राणान् परित्राय दिवं गत:,महान् व्रतधारी राजा सत्यसंधने इच्छानुसार अनुनय-विनय करके अपने प्राणोंद्वारा एक ब्राह्मणके प्राणोंकी रक्षा की थी, ऐसा करके वे स्वर्गलोकमें गये थे
anūnīya yathākāmaṃ satyasaṃdho mahāvrataḥ | svaiḥ prāṇair brāhmaṇaprāṇān paritrāya divaṃ gataḥ ||
व्यास उवाच—सत्यसन्धो महाव्रतः स यथाकाममनुनीय स्वैः प्राणैर्ब्राह्मणप्राणान् परित्राय दिवं गतः।
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is upheld through truthfulness and self-sacrifice: protecting an innocent (here, a Brāhmaṇa) even at the cost of one’s own life is presented as a supreme ethical act that leads to heavenly merit.
Vyāsa recounts an exemplary deed: a great-vowed, truth-steadfast king, after conciliating others as needed, saves a Brāhmaṇa’s life by giving up his own life-breath, and as a result attains heaven.