Shloka 18
Gautama–Yama Saṃvāda: Mātṛ-Pitṛ-Ṛṇa (Debt to Parents) and Śubha-Loka Attainment
भवत् तपोविघधातो वा यदि स्याद् विरमे ततः । यदि वास्ति कथायोगो योडयं प्रश्नो मयेरित:
bhavat tapovighadhāto vā yadi syād virame tataḥ | yadi vāsti kathāyogo yo 'yaṃ praśno mayeritaḥ |
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Kung ang aking pagtatanong ay maaaring makagambala sa inyong tapas (pagpapakasakit/ascetismo), titigil ako agad. Ngunit kung may panahon kayo para sa pag-uusap, pakilutas ang tanong na aking iniharap. Nais kong marinig nang malinaw ang sanhi ng pag-asa at ang tunay na sukat ng kakayahan. Yamang kayo’y laging nakatuon sa tapas, magtipon kayo at pag-usapan ang bagay na ito.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A seeker should inquire with humility and sensitivity: if one’s questions hinder another’s spiritual discipline, one should pause; if there is proper occasion, one should pursue clarification through respectful dialogue and collective deliberation.
Bhīṣma, engaged in a serious inquiry, addresses ascetics (implied by the context) and asks whether his questioning disrupts their tapas. If not, he requests that they take time to discuss and resolve the doubt he has raised, especially concerning the grounds of hope and the limits of human capability.