Shloka 6
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
शोचन्तस्तस्य पूर्वोक्तान् भाषितांश्वासकृत् पुन: । तं बाल॑ भूतले क्षिप्य प्रतिगन्तुं न शकनुयु:,वे उसकी पहलेकी बातोंको बारंबार याद करके शोकमग्न हो जाते थे; इसलिये उसे श्मशानभूमिमें डालकर लौट जानेमें असमर्थ हो रहे थे
śocantastasya pūrvoktān bhāṣitān śvāsakṛt punaḥ | taṃ bālaṃ bhūtale kṣipya pratigantuṃ na śaknu yuḥ ||
Họ than khóc, nghẹn thở vì sầu, và cứ nhớ đi nhớ lại những lời đứa trẻ từng nói trước kia. Bởi thế, dẫu đã đặt em xuống mặt đất nơi bãi hỏa táng, họ vẫn không thể quay lưng mà rời đi—bị níu giữ bởi lòng thương và ký ức.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how remembrance and compassion can overpower mere ritual completion: grief makes people linger, unable to detach even after performing the outward act. It implicitly points to the ethical depth of human bonds and the difficulty of letting go.
Bhīṣma describes mourners who, repeatedly recalling the child’s earlier words, become overwhelmed with sorrow. Even after placing the child down on the ground (understood in context as the cremation-ground setting), they cannot bring themselves to return home.