Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 23 Shloka 3 - Mahabharata | Arabic | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 3

Pātra-Lakṣaṇa and Niścita-Dharma

Marks of a Worthy Recipient and Stable Criteria of Dharma

Devanagari script

रूयुवाच द्यावापृथिव्योर्यत्रैषा काम्या ब्राह्मणसत्तम | शृणुष्वावहितः सर्व यदिदं सत्यविक्रम

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | dyāvāpṛthivyor yatraiṣā kāmyā brāhmaṇasattama | śṛṇuṣvāvahitaḥ sarvaṃ yad idaṃ satyavikrama ||

Translation

قالت المرأة: «يا خيرَ البرهميين! سواءٌ في السماء أو على الأرض—حيثما أقام الرجال والنساء—يبقى هذا الشوق المتبادل إلى الاتحاد قائمًا. يا من شجاعته في الصدق، أَصْغِ بإمعان: سأبيّن لك سبب هذه اللعبة من التحوّلات التي جرت.»

Word by Word

रुयुRuyu (proper name, the speaker)

उवाचsaid

द्यावाof the two heavens (sky)

पृथिव्योःof the two earths (earth)

यत्रwhere

एषाthis (she/this desire)

काम्याdesirable, wished-for

ब्राह्मण-सत्तमO best of Brahmins

शृणुष्वlisten

अवहितःattentive, composed

सर्वम्all (of it)

यत्which, what

इदम्this

सत्य-विक्रमO true-in-valour / O of steadfast prowess

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Brahmin (addressed as brāhmaṇasattama)

Heaven (Dyauḥ / Svarga)

Earth (Pṛthivī / Martya-loka)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames kāma (desire for union) as a pervasive human condition across realms, and it prepares an ethical explanation: extraordinary events (like transformations) are to be understood through their underlying causes rather than mere spectacle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma addresses a Brahmin and asks him to listen attentively, introducing an account that will explain why a sequence of ‘transformations’ or changes of form occurred, grounding the story in motive and causation.