Shloka 19
Haṃsa–Sādhya Saṃvāda: Satya, Dama, Kṣamā and the Discipline of Speech
स्वयं मृत्पिण्डभूतस्य परतन्त्रस्य सर्वदा । को हेतु: स्वजन पोष्टूं रक्षितुं वादृढात्मन:
svayaṁ mṛtpiṇḍabhūtasya paratantrasya sarvadā | ko hetuḥ svajanaṁ poṣṭuṁ rakṣituṁ vā dṛḍhātmanaḥ ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Kung ang tao—sa katotohanan—ay wala ring iba kundi isang tipak ng lupa sa anyo ng katawan at laging nakasalalay sa mga puwersang lampas sa kanyang kapangyarihan, anong kakayahan mayroon ang taong hindi matatag ang isip upang magpakain at magtanggol sa sarili niyang mga kamag-anak? Hungkag ang pag-angking siya’y matibay na tagapangalaga kung hindi pa niya napagwawagi ang sarili.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Without inner steadiness and self-mastery, a person cannot truly fulfill the ethical responsibilities of sustaining and protecting dependents; bodily strength and social claims are unreliable when one remains fundamentally dependent and unstable.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhīṣma challenges the notion that an unsteady person can act as a reliable protector of family and dependents, emphasizing the primacy of inner firmness for righteous leadership.