Shloka 44
मृत्यु-काल-प्रबोधनम् (Instruction on Mortality, Time, and Truth) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 169
चक्राड्रभारस्कन्धं तं धनुष्पाणिं धृतायुधम् । रुधिरेणावसिक्ताड़ुं गृहद्वारमुपागतम्
cakrādrabhāraskandhaṁ taṁ dhanuṣpāṇiṁ dhṛtāyudham | rudhireṇāvasiktāṅgaṁ gṛhadvāram upāgatam ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: “Dumating siya sa mismong pintuan ng bahay—ang balikat ay pasan na wari’y gulong at bundok, may busog sa kamay at mahigpit na hawak ang mga sandata, at ang buong katawan ay basang-basa sa dugo. Sa gayong anyo, mukha siyang rākṣasa na kumakain ng tao, at tila isang nalaglag mula sa dangal at asal ng isang brāhmaṇa. Nang makita siyang dumating sa bahay sa ganitong kalagayan, nakilala siya ng brāhmaṇa; at pagkakilala, sila’y napuno ng matinding hiya at nagsalita sa kanya nang ganito.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how outward acts of violence and weapon-bearing—especially when accompanied by bloodshed—can signify a collapse of brāhmaṇa-appropriate conduct, provoking social and inner shame; it frames dharma not merely as birth-status but as lived restraint and ethical comportment.
A man arrives at a brāhmaṇa’s house door carrying weapons, bow in hand, and drenched in blood, appearing terrifying like a rākṣasa. The brāhmaṇa recognizes him, feels deep embarrassment, and then speaks to him—setting up a moral confrontation about his fallen condition.