Shloka 96
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
भीम: सुघोरश्च तथा नीलमेघसमप्रभ: । अस्मिन् शवं परित्यज्य प्रेतकार्याण्युपासत,यह अत्यन्त घोर, भयानक तथा नीलमेघके समान काला अन्धकारपूर्ण है। इस मुर्देको यहीं छोड़कर तुमलोग प्रेतकर्म करो
bhīmaḥ sughoraś ca tathā nīlameghasamaprabhaḥ | asmin śavaṃ parityajya pretakāryāṇy upāsata ||
Sinabi ng buwitre: “Ang Bhīma na ito ay lubhang kakila-kilabot—nakapanghihilakbot, at maitim na gaya ng ulap ng ulan. Iwan ang bangkay na ito rito, at isagawa ang mga ritwal na nararapat sa yumao.”
गृध्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid terror and uncertainty, one should not neglect dharma—especially the obligatory rites owed to the dead. The verse emphasizes responsibility toward the departed (pretakārya) as a binding ethical duty.
A vulture addresses a group, describing a fearsome, cloud-dark presence and instructing them to leave the corpse where it is and proceed to perform the funerary rites for the deceased.