Shloka 4
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
दुःखिता: केचिदादाय बालमप्राप्तयौवनम् । कुलसर्वस्वभूतं वै रुदन््त: शोकविह्दला:
duḥkhitāḥ kecid ādāya bālam aprāptayauvanam | kulasarvasvabhūtaṃ vai rudantaḥ śokavihvalāḥ ||
ภีษมะกล่าวว่า ญาติบางคนผู้โศกเศร้าได้อุ้มร่างเด็กนั้น—ผู้ยังไม่ทันถึงวัยหนุ่มและถูกนับว่าเป็นสมบัติทั้งมวลของตระกูล—แล้วคร่ำครวญร่ำไห้ด้วยความทุกข์ระทม
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the intensity of human sorrow when death comes before life’s expected stages, especially when a child embodies a family’s hopes. It implicitly points to the ethical need for steadiness and compassion in the face of impermanence.
Bhishma describes a poignant scene: relatives lift and carry the dead body of a boy who had not yet reached youth, and they cry loudly, shaken and overwhelmed by grief, because he was considered the family’s greatest treasure.