Shloka 20
न चाशकत् तां देवेन्द्रो ब्रह्मवध्यां व्यपोहितुम् । देवेन्द्रने उसके निवारणके लिये महान् प्रयत्न किया; परंतु किसी तरह भी वे उसे दूर न कर सके ।। गृहीत एव तु तया देवेन्द्रो भरतर्षभ
na cāśakat tāṁ devendro brahmavadhyāṁ vyapohitum | gṛhīta eva tu tayā devendro bharatarṣabha ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Ngay cả Devendra (Indra) cũng không thể xua đuổi tội sát brāhmaṇa ấy. Dẫu chúa tể chư thiên đã gắng sức lớn lao để ngăn trừ, ngài vẫn không thể loại bỏ nó bằng bất cứ cách nào; trái lại, ngài vẫn bị nó nắm giữ—hỡi bậc tráng kiện nhất trong dòng Bharata.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that certain grave violations of dharma—especially brahma-hatyā—carry consequences that cannot be erased merely by status or power. Even Indra cannot simply ‘push away’ the moral taint; ethical causality demands accountability and, where possible, proper expiation.
Bhīṣma, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira in Śānti Parva, cites Indra as an example: Indra attempts to remove the taint of brahma-hatyā but fails, remaining ‘seized’ by it. The narrative functions as a cautionary illustration within Bhīṣma’s discourse on dharma and the weight of wrongdoing.