Shloka 13
Chatra–Upānah Dāna: Origin Narrative
Jamadagni–Reṇukā–Sūrya Saṃvāda
पुरा प्रपश्यामि परेण मर्त्यान् बलीयसा दुर्बलान् भुज्यमानान् | तस्माद् यास्यामि परलोक॑ चिराय न हात्सहे द्रष्टमिह जीवलोकम्
purā prapaśyāmi pareṇa martyān balīyasā durbalān bhujyamānān | tasmād yāsyāmi paralokaṁ cirāya na hāt sahe draṣṭum iha jīvalokam ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Maging ngayon ay nakikita ko na ang darating na panahon: ang malalakas na tao’y yuyurak at pagsasamantalahan ang mahihina. Kaya’t ako’y lilisan patungo sa kabilang daigdig sa mahabang panahon; hindi ko matitiis na manatili rito at masaksihan ang gayong kaawa-awang kalagayan sa daigdig ng mga nabubuhay.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns of a moral decline where the powerful exploit the weak, implying that strength without dharma becomes predation. It highlights an ethical imperative: power must be restrained by righteousness and compassion, otherwise society becomes unbearable for the virtuous.
Bhishma, speaking in the Anushasana Parva, expresses a grim foresight about future social conditions. Overwhelmed by the prospect of injustice, he declares his resolve to depart to the other world rather than remain to witness the suffering of the living.