Shloka 15
अर्जुनस्य लक्ष्यवेधः
Arjuna’s Hitting of the Target at the Svayaṃvara
नानीशैहिं तदा तात भगुभिभवितात्मभि: | वधो हापेक्षित: सर्व: क्षत्रियाणां विहिंसताम्
nāniśaiḥ tadā tāta bhṛgubhir bhāvitātmabhiḥ | vadho hāpekṣitaḥ sarvaḥ kṣatriyāṇāṁ vihiṁsatām ||
وسِشٹھ نے کہا—“اے فرزند! یہ نہ سمجھنا کہ جب کشتری ہم پر ظلم و ہِیسا کر رہے تھے تو ہم—پاکیزہ باطن بھِرگو وَنشی برہمن—بے بسی کے سبب اپنے پورے کُل کے قتلِ عام کو خاموشی سے سہہ گئے۔ ہماری بردباری کی وجہ یہ نہ تھی۔”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vasiṣṭha rejects the idea that moral restraint equals weakness: the Bhṛgus’ endurance of violence was grounded in cultivated self-control and ethical choice, not helpless submission.
Vasiṣṭha addresses a younger listener (“tāta”), clarifying that when Kṣatriyas attacked and killed members of the Bhṛgu lineage, the Brahmins did not passively accept the massacre because they were incapable; he is reframing their response as principled restraint.