Shloka 56
Devaśarmā–Vipula Dialogue on Ahorātra–Ṛtu as Moral Witnesses (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४३)
स्वयं गच्छन्ति देवत्वं ततो देवानियाद् भयम् । छुरेकी धार
svayaṁ gacchanti devatvaṁ tato devāniyād bhayam | churekī dhāra, viṣa, sarpa aura āga—ye saba vināśake hetu eka ora aura taruṇī striyāṁ eka ora | mahābāho! pūrvaṁ iyaṁ sarvā prajā dhārmikī āsīt—iti śrutaṁ naḥ | tāḥ prajāḥ svayaṁ devatvaṁ prāpnuvanti sma | tasmād devānāṁ mahad bhayam abhavat | gurupatnī samāsīno vipulaḥ sa mahātapāḥ | upāsīnām anindyāṅgīṁ kathābhiḥ samalobhayat ||
Sinabi ni Bhishma: “Noong unang panahon, napakatuwid ng mga tao kaya’t kusang naaabot nila ang kalagayang maka-diyos; dahil dito, labis na natakot ang mga diyos. Sapagkat ang isang dalagang babae ay maaaring maging sanhi ng kapahamakan gaya ng talim ng labaha, lason, ahas, o apoy. Pagkaraan, ang dakilang ascetic na si Vipula ay umupo sa tabi ng asawa ng kanyang guro—si Ruci na walang kapintasan ang mga sangkap—at sinikap siyang akitin sa pamamagitan ng sari-saring salaysay at pakikipag-usap.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames ethical vigilance: even a great ascetic can be tested by proximity and persuasive speech, and social boundaries (especially regarding the teacher’s wife) are treated as a serious dharmic line. It also recalls an ideal age when righteousness itself elevated people to divine status, underscoring the power—and the fragility—of dharma.
Bhishma describes an earlier time when people were so virtuous that they attained godhood, which alarmed the gods. He then introduces an episode in which the ascetic Vipula sits near his teacher’s wife Ruci and attempts to win her over through varied conversation—setting up a moral test involving restraint, propriety, and the protection of dharma.