Shloka 92
आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः
Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca
कि सौम्य नातित्वरसे कि कृतार्थोडवमन्यसे । छिन्धि पाशानमित्रघ्न पुरा श्वपच एति च
ki saumya nātitvarase ki kṛtārtho ’vamanyase | chindhi pāśān amitraghna purā śvapaca eti ca ||
“Mabait na kaibigan, bakit hindi ka nagmamadali? Dahil ba natupad na ang pakay mo kaya minamaliit mo ako? O tagapagpuksa ng kaaway, putulin mo na ang mga gapos na ito—bago dumating ang śvapaca (ang itinuturing na maruming uri, ang kumakain ng aso).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights urgency in righteous action and the ethical weight of how one treats a dependent or restrained person; it also reflects the tension between personal dignity and prevailing social stigma attached to an outcaste’s approach.
Bhīṣma addresses someone he calls ‘dear one’ and ‘slayer of foes,’ reproaching him for delaying and seeming to ignore him; he urges him to cut Bhīṣma’s bonds quickly, before an outcaste (śvapaca/caṇḍāla) arrives.