Shloka 42
आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः
Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca
जीवितार्थी कथं त्वद्य शत्रुभि: प्रार्थितस्त्रिभि: । तस्मादेनमहं शत्रुं मार्जार संश्रयामि वै
jīvitārthī kathaṃ tv adya śatrubhiḥ prārthitas tribhiḥ | tasmād enam ahaṃ śatruṃ mārjāraṃ saṃśrayāmi vai ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Ta vốn cầu giữ mạng, hôm nay phải làm sao khi ba kẻ thù đang rình rập? Vì vậy, ta sẽ nương náu nơi chính kẻ thù này—con mèo.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a pragmatic ethical tension: when threatened by multiple dangers, one may seek protection even from a hostile party. It points to the complexity of dharma in crisis—choices may be driven by survival, yet they carry moral ambiguity because refuge is taken in an 'enemy'.
A speaker (Bhīṣma, narrating a didactic episode) voices the predicament of being targeted by three enemies at once and concludes that, to save his life, he will resort to the shelter of a cat—explicitly acknowledging the cat as an enemy, yet choosing it as a temporary refuge against greater immediate threats.