Shloka 17
Kṣātra-dharma in Campaign and Battle: Protection, Purification, and the Ideal Warrior’s End (क्षात्रधर्मः—अभियानयुद्धे रक्षणदानशुद्धिः)
अभयकालके समान ही उस भयके समय भी यदि कोई शूरवीर उस भीरु पुरुषकी सकुशल रक्षा कर लेता है तो उसके प्रति वह अपने अनुरूप उपकार एवं पुण्य करता है। यदि पृष्ठवर्ती पुरुषको वह अपने-जैसा न बना सके तो भी पूर्व कथित पुण्यका भागी तो होता ही है ।।
yadi te kṛtam ājñāya namaskuryuḥ sadaivātam | yuktaṃ nyāyyaṃ ca kuryus te na ca tad vartate tathā ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Kung ang mga nailigtas ay tunay na kumikilala sa ginawa ng kanilang tagapagligtas at palaging yumuyuko sa harap ng matapang na tagapagtanggol, saka lamang sila kumikilos nang angkop at makatarungan sa kanya. Ngunit kung hindi, ang kanilang asal ay sumasalungat sa nararapat—nawawalan ng pasasalamat at nagkukulang sa tungkuling utang sa nagligtas sa kanila sa oras ng panganib.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Gratitude is a dharmic obligation: one who has been protected should acknowledge the benefactor’s deed and respond with fitting, just conduct—reverence, loyalty, and appropriate service—rather than ingratitude.
In Bhishma’s instruction on righteous conduct (Shanti Parva), he explains the moral expectation that beneficiaries of protection—especially in times of fear or danger—must recognize the protector’s help and behave toward him in a proper and just way.