Shloka 10
Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant
शिष्टं दान्तं कृतज्ञं च प्रियं च सततं मम । न मे विक्रोशतो राजन् हर्तुमहसि कुज्जरम्
bhīṣma uvāca | śiṣṭaṃ dāntaṃ kṛtajñaṃ ca priyaṃ ca satataṃ mama | na me vikrośato rājan hartum arhasi kuñjaram |
Bhishma nói: “Con voi này đã được thuần luyện, nết na, tự chế, biết ơn và luôn là điều ta yêu quý. Hỡi Đại vương, dù ta kêu gào phản đối, ngài cũng không nên cướp lấy con voi này.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharma as protecting those under one’s care: even an animal that serves faithfully and embodies discipline and gratitude should not be wrongfully seized. Moral fitness (arhasi) is invoked to restrain power with ethical responsibility.
Bhishma addresses a king who is attempting to take an elephant. He protests loudly and argues from the elephant’s virtues—good conduct, self-control, gratitude, and loyal service—urging the king not to remove it.