Shloka 13
अबुद्धिपूर्वकपापविमोचनप्रश्नः — Janamejaya’s Unintended Transgression and the Indrota Rebuke
'पक्षिप्रवर! आप अब संतानवान् और पुत्रवान् हो चुके हैं। अतः आप अपनी देहपर दया न करके धर्म और अर्थपर ही दृष्टि रखते हुए इस बहेलियेका ऐसा सत्कार करें, जिससे इसका मन प्रसन्न हो जाय ।।
pakṣipravara! āpa adhunā santānavān putravāṁś ca bhūtaḥ. ataḥ sva-dehe dayāṁ na kṛtvā dharma-artha-parāyaṇa-dṛṣṭyā asya vyādhasya tādṛśaṁ satkāraṁ kuru yena asya manaḥ prasīdati. mat-kṛte mā ca santāpaṁ kurvīthās tvaṁ vihaṅgama. śarīra-yātrā-kṛtyārtham anyān dārān upaiṣyasi.
Sinabi ni Bhishma: “O pinakamainam sa mga ibon, ngayon ay pinagpala ka na ng mga supling at mga anak na lalaki. Kaya, huwag kang kumapit sa awa para sa sarili mong katawan; ituon mo ang tingin sa dharma at artha, at parangalan mo ang mangangaso na ito sa paraang ikalulugod ng kanyang puso. At, O ibon, huwag kang magdalamhati dahil sa akin. Upang maitaguyod ang iyong buhay, makakamtan mo ang isa pang kapareha.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma emphasizes prioritizing dharma and artha over personal attachment and bodily sentiment: respond to circumstances with ethical prudence, even honoring an agent of harm (the hunter) if it serves a higher moral and practical end, and accept life’s necessities without excessive grief.
Bhishma recounts counsel addressed to a bird: since the bird now has offspring, it should act with a view to duty and welfare, respectfully appease the hunter, and not mourn for Bhishma; the bird can continue life and sustain itself, even by finding another mate.