Shloka 8
Gautama–Yama Saṃvāda: Mātṛ-Pitṛ-Ṛṇa (Debt to Parents) and Śubha-Loka Attainment
हैहयानां कुले जात: सुमित्रो मित्रनन्दन: । चरामि मृगयूथानि निघ्नन् बाणै: सहस्रश:
haihayānāṃ kule jātaḥ sumitro mitranandanaḥ | carāmi mṛgayūthāni nighnan bāṇaiḥ sahasraśaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“我生于海诃耶族系，名为苏密多罗，乃友人之欢悦。我四处游行，以千百箭矢射杀成群之鹿。”此言凸显其自我画像——勇力与身份并陈，也暗示一层伦理张力：同一武艺既可用于护持，亦可能被挪作无谓的杀戮。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse implicitly raises the dharmic question of how power and martial ability should be used: lineage and prowess can be proclaimed with pride, yet the act described—slaughtering animal herds for sport—invites reflection on restraint (saṃyama) and the proper aims of a kṣatriya’s strength.
A speaker (within Bhishma’s discourse) introduces himself as Sumitra of the Haihaya line, describing his roaming life and his practice of killing herds of deer with countless arrows—setting up characterization and a moral backdrop for the surrounding discussion in the Śānti Parva.