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 ||
毗湿摩曰：“根基若被从根处斩断，凡依此而生者，其命皆灭。树根既断，枝条又怎能存立？”
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.