Shloka 17
अपेय: सागरो येषामपि शापान्महात्मनाम् | येषां कोपाग्निरद्यापि दण्डके नोपशाम्यति,उन्हीं महात्माओंके शापसे समुद्रका पानी पीनेयोग्य नहीं रहा। उनकी क्रोधाग्नि दण्डकारण्यमें आजतक शान्त नहीं हुई
apeyaḥ sāgaro yeṣām api śāpān mahātmanām | yeṣāṁ kopāgnir adyāpi daṇḍake nopaśāmyati ||
ด้วยคำสาปของมหาตมะเหล่านั้น แม้น้ำแห่งมหาสมุทรก็กลายเป็นสิ่งมิอาจดื่มได้; และเพลิงแห่งพิโรธของท่านทั้งหลาย ณ ป่าทัณฑกะ ก็ยังมิได้สงบลงตราบจนวันนี้
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that moral and spiritual authority (especially of disciplined sages) is not merely personal but cosmic in consequence: a righteous curse can reshape the world, and unrestrained anger born of adharma can endure across time and place. It implicitly urges reverence for dharma and restraint, since violations invite lasting repercussions.
Bhishma is citing an illustrative example: certain great sages, wronged or provoked, pronounced a curse that rendered the ocean’s water undrinkable, and their ‘fire of wrath’ is said to remain unextinguished in the Dandaka region. The statement functions as a moral exemplum within Bhishma’s instruction.