Shloka 41

Brahmacarya-Upāya: Jñāna, Śauca, and the Mind’s Role in Desire (शान्ति पर्व, अध्याय २०७)

Devanagari script

एष भूतपतिस्तात स्वध्यक्षश्न तथोच्यते । निरपेक्षांश्व कौन्तेय कीर्तयिष्यामि तच्छूुणु

Transliteration

eṣa bhūtapatis tāta svādhyakṣaś ca tathocyate | nirapekṣānś ca kaunteya kīrtayiṣyāmi tac chṛṇu ||

Translation

قال بيشما: «يا بُنيّ، إنّه يُدعى سيّد الكائنات، ويُقال له كذلك المُشرف على الجميع. يا ابن كونتي، أَصغِ إليّ: سأصف الآن أولئك الذين، لما غفلوا ولا مبالاة لهم بالسلوك القويم، آل بهم الأمر إلى مشاهدة عوالم الجحيم.»

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'eṣaḥ', 'definition': 'this (one), he (here referring to the Supreme Lord)'}, {'term': 'bhūtapatiḥ', 'definition': 'lord of beings

• ruler of all creatures'}, {'term': 'tāta', 'definition': 'dear child

• affectionate address'}, {'term': 'svādhyakṣaḥ', 'definition': 'overseer

• one who presides over all'}, {'term': 'tathā', 'definition': 'thus

• likewise'}, {'term': 'ucyate', 'definition': 'is called

• is said to be'}, {'term': 'kaunteya', 'definition': 'son of Kuntī

• Arjuna/Yudhiṣṭhira (vocative epithet)'}, {'term': 'nirapekṣān', 'definition': 'indifferent

• unconcerned (especially toward dharma and consequences)'}, {'term': 'kīrtayiṣyāmi', 'definition': 'I shall describe

• I shall recount'}, {'term': 'tat', 'definition': 'that (which is to be described)'}, {'term': 'śṛṇu', 'definition': 'listen'}]

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Kaunteya (son of Kuntī)
• Bhūtapati (Lord of beings)
• Svādhyakṣa (Overseer)
• Śrī Kṛṣṇa (as identified in the given Hindi gloss)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma frames the coming discussion of hell as an ethical warning: the Supreme Lord is the ruler and overseer of all beings, and those who become indifferent to dharma and moral responsibility face grievous consequences. The verse establishes divine oversight and accountability as the basis for the ensuing description of naraka.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma continues instructing the Kuru prince (addressed as Kaunteya). He identifies the Supreme as the Lord of beings and the universal overseer, then signals a transition: he will now recount the fate of those who come to witness hell, preparing the listener for a detailed moral-eschatological exposition.