Shloka 2
Dvaipāyana–Kīṭa Saṃvāda: Karmic Memory, Fear of Death, and Embodied Pleasure
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! तदनन्तर महातेजस्वी और वक्ताओंमें श्रेष्ठ राजा युधिष्ठिरने बाणशय्यापर पड़े हुए पितामह भीष्मसे पुनः प्रश्न किया ।।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | ṛṣayo brāhmaṇā devāḥ praśaṃsanti mahāmate | ahiṃsālakṣaṇaṃ dharmaṃ vedaprāmāṇyadarśanāt | nṛpaśreṣṭha! pṛcchāmi manovākkāyakarmabhiḥ | hiṃsām evācaran martyaḥ kathaṃ duḥkhāt pramucyate ||
Yudhiṣṭhira thưa: “Bậc đại trí! Các hiền triết, Bà-la-môn và chư thiên—dựa trên thẩm quyền của Veda—luôn ca ngợi pháp có dấu ấn là bất hại (ahiṃsā). Vậy nên, hỡi bậc vương giả tối thượng, ta xin hỏi: một kẻ phàm nhân, bằng tâm, bằng lời, và bằng thân hành, chỉ thực hành bạo hại, làm sao có thể thoát khỏi nỗi khổ theo sau bạo hại ấy?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Non-violence is presented as a Veda-endorsed hallmark of dharma, and Yudhiṣṭhira frames ethics as comprehensive—covering intention (mind), expression (speech), and conduct (body). The question highlights karmic consequence: persistent violence across these three levels binds one to suffering, so liberation requires reform at all three.
After the war, Bhīṣma lies on his bed of arrows, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. In this chapter, Yudhiṣṭhira again questions Bhīṣma, citing the praise of ahiṃsā by sages, Brahmins, and gods, and asks how a person devoted to violence in thought, word, and deed could ever escape the resulting misery.