Shloka 10
Śaraṇāgatapālana—Prastāvanā
Protection of the Refuge-Seeker: Opening of the Kapota Narrative
छिन्नमूले त्वधिष्ठाने सर्वेषां जीवनं हतम् | कथं हि शाखास्तिष्ठेयुश्छिन्नमूले वनस्पती
chinnamūle tv adhiṣṭhāne sarveṣāṁ jīvanaṁ hatam | kathaṁ hi śākhās tiṣṭheyuś chinnamūle vanaspatiḥ ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Khi nền tảng bị chặt đứt tận gốc, thì sinh mệnh của tất cả những kẻ nương tựa vào đó cũng bị diệt. Bởi làm sao cành nhánh có thể còn đứng vững, khi rễ của cây đã bị chém lìa?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that outcomes are sustained by their underlying causes: if the root support is removed, dependent structures collapse. Ethically and politically, one should address the fundamental source of harm or disorder rather than only its visible offshoots.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and governance. Here he uses the image of a tree to explain that destroying the base (the root/foundation) ends the vitality of everything that relies on it, emphasizing strategic and moral focus on primary causes.