Shloka 5
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
बालं॑ मृतं गृहीत्वाथ श्मशानाभिमुखा: स्थिता: । अड्नेनैव च संक्रम्य रुरुदुर्भशदु:खिता:,उस मृत बालकको गोदमें लेकर वे श्मशानकी ओर चले। वहाँ पहुँचकर खड़े हो गये और अत्यन्त दुखी होकर रोने लगे
bālaṃ mṛtaṃ gṛhītvātha śmaśānābhimukhāḥ sthitāḥ | aṅgenaiva ca saṅkramya rurudur bhṛśaduḥkhitāḥ ||
بھیشم نے کہا—مردہ بچے کو گود میں لے کر وہ شمشان کی طرف چلے۔ وہاں پہنچ کر کھڑے ہو گئے اور نہایت غم میں بلند آواز سے رونے لگے۔
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between dharma (the necessary duties connected with death and cremation) and natural human emotion: even when one proceeds to perform the proper rites, grief remains real and powerful, inviting compassion rather than judgment.
People carry a deceased child toward the cremation ground; upon arriving, they stop and cry intensely, depicting a scene of mourning immediately before or at the threshold of funeral rites.