Shloka 148
आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः
Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca
कृतं मृगयसे शत्रुं सुखोपायमसंशयम् । “बुद्धिमानू लोमश! जो तुम आज जालके बन्धनसे छूटनेके बाद ही कृतज्ञतावश मुझ अपने शत्रुको सुख पहुँचानेका असंदिग्ध उपाय ढूँढ़ने लगे हो
kṛtaṃ mṛgayase śatruṃ sukhopāyam asaṃśayam | asmin nilaya eva tvaṃ nyagrodhād avatāritaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Bhishma: “Walang alinlangan, hinahanap mo ang tiyak at banayad na paraan upang gawan ng kabutihan ang iyong kaaway bilang ganti sa nagawang tulong. Ngunit sa tahanang ito rin ikaw ibinaba mula sa punong balete. Bakit, matapos kang makalaya sa silo, ikaw ay sabik na sabik—dahil sa pasasalamat—na humanap ng paraan upang maghatid ng ginhawa sa akin, na kaaway mo? Sa usapin ng pagtanaw at pagbabayad ng utang na loob, magkapantay ang ating kalagayan: kung iniligtas kita sa panganib, iniligtas mo rin ako sa kaparehong kapahamakan. Kung gayon, bakit ikaw lamang ang nagmamadaling gumanti, samantalang ako’y walang ginagawa?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical reciprocity and the subtlety of gratitude: when kindness has been mutually exchanged, one should reflect on whether further repayment is truly owed or whether it becomes performative. It also probes the tension between enmity and moral obligation—benefiting even an enemy can be grounded in dharma rather than self-interest.
Bhishma addresses another character (named Lomasha in the received Hindi gloss) who, after being freed from a trap, seeks a sure way to benefit Bhishma despite calling him an enemy. Bhishma questions the urgency to repay, noting that both have already saved each other from danger, and points to the immediate setting: the same dwelling and the banyan tree from which the other was brought down.