Shloka 19
Kīṭopākhyāna: Prajā-pālana as Kṣatra-vrata and the Attainment of Brāhmaṇya
गर्भवासेषु पच्यन्ते क्षाराम्लकटुकै रसै: । मूत्रस्वेदपुरीषाणां परुषैर्भुशदारुणै:
garbhavāseṣu pacyante kṣārāmlakaṭukai rasaiḥ | mūtrasvedapurīṣāṇāṃ paruṣair bhuśadāruṇaiḥ ||
గర్భవాసంలో ప్రాణులు క్షార, ఆమ్ల, కటు రసాలచే నెమ్మదిగా ‘వండబడినట్లు’ బాధపడతారు; మూత్రం, చెమట, మలముల కఠినమైన, కరుకైన, అత్యంత దారుణమైన అపవిత్రతలచే తాపత్రయపడతారు।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the inherent suffering and impurity involved in embodied life from its very beginning in the womb, encouraging humility, ethical restraint, and detachment from sensual arrogance by remembering the painful conditions that precede birth.
Bhīṣma, in his instruction during the Anuśāsana Parva, describes the fetus’s distress in the womb—afflicted by caustic, sour, and pungent fluids and by contact with urine, sweat, and feces—as part of a broader moral discourse meant to guide conduct and cultivate dispassion.