Shloka 5

Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma

Devanagari script

आत्माभिप्रेतमुत्सूज्य कन्याभिप्रेत एव यः:

Transliteration

ātmābhipretam utsṛjya kanyābhipreta eva yaḥ

Translation

قال بهيشما: «مَن يترك ما يشتهيه لنفسه جانباً، ولا يعمل إلا وفق ما تريده الفتاة…»

Word by Word

• आत्माभिप्रेतम्: desired by oneself / one's own preference
• आत्माभिप्रेतम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आत्मन् + अभिप्रेत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• उत्सृज्य: having abandoned / giving up
• Type: Verb
• Root: उत् + सृज्
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund)

• कन्याभिप्रेतः: desired by the maiden
• कन्याभिप्रेतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कन्या + अभिप्रेत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एव: indeed / only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• kanyā (the maiden/prospective bride)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ethical standard: one should relinquish selfish desire and prioritize the maiden’s own choice/approval, implying respect for her agency and consent in marriage decisions.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing on dharma. Here he begins describing a type of man whose conduct in marriage is guided not by personal craving but by what the prospective bride herself prefers.