Shloka 1
अबुद्धिपूर्वकपापविमोचनप्रश्नः — Janamejaya’s Unintended Transgression and the Indrota Rebuke
अपने-आप बछ। अंक पजञज्चचत्वारिशर्दाधिकशततमो< ध्याय: कबूतरीका कबूतरसे शरणागत व्याधकी सेवाके लिये प्रार्थना भीष्म उवाच एवं विलपतस्तस्य श्रुत्वा तु करुणं वच: । गृहीता शकुनिघ्नेन कपोती वाक्यमत्रवीत्
bhīṣma uvāca | evaṁ vilapatas tasya śrutvā tu karuṇaṁ vacaḥ | gṛhītā śakunighnena kapotī vākyam abravīt |
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “O Yudhiṣṭhira, nang marinig ang kaawa-awang pananalita ng taong nananaghoy nang gayon, ang inahing kalapati—na bihag ng mamamatay-ibon (mangangaso)—ay nagsalita ng mga salitang ito.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical exemplum: compassion and dharma are tested precisely in moments of suffering and captivity. By foregrounding the hunter’s act and the she-pigeon’s response, the narrative prepares to explore duties toward the vulnerable and the moral weight of seeking/receiving refuge (śaraṇāgati).
Bhishma narrates to Yudhishthira: after someone laments in distress, the she-pigeon—captured by a hunter—hears those sorrowful words and begins to speak, setting up her plea/argument within the pigeon-upākhyāna.