Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
ते प्रत्यूचुरिदं वाक््यं दुःखिता: प्रणता: स्थिता: । एकपुत्रविहीनानां सर्वेषां जीवितार्थिनाम्
te pratyūcur idaṃ vākyaṃ duḥkhitāḥ praṇatāḥ sthitāḥ | ekaputravihīnānāṃ sarveṣāṃ jīvitārthinām ||
他们悲痛欲绝,俯首而立,以这些话作答——如同失去独子的众人一般,人人都恋生求存,恳求得以继续活下去的凭藉。
भीष्म उवाच
The verse foregrounds the ethical weight of compassion toward those crushed by personal loss: grief and vulnerability lead people to humility and supplication, reminding a ruler or elder to respond with sensitivity to suffering.
In Bhishma’s narration, a group of people—sorrowful and bowed down—respond to someone’s words. They identify themselves as bereft of an only son and as persons desperately seeking to preserve life, setting a tone of lament and appeal.