Shloka 45

Śrī–Indra–Bali Saṃvāda: The Departure and Fourfold Placement of Lakṣmī

Devanagari script

एवमर्थरनर्थश्व दु:खिता: सर्वजन्तव: । आगमैरपकृष्यन्ते हस्तिपैहस्तिनो यथा,इस प्रकार अर्थ और अनर्थसे सभी प्राणी दुखी रहते हैं। केवल शास्त्रके वचन ही उन्हें खींचकर राहपर लाते हैं। ठीक उसी तरह, जैसे महावत हाथीपर अंकुश रखकर उन्हें काबूमें किये रहते हैं

Transliteration

evam artha-anarthau ca duḥkhitāḥ sarva-jantavaḥ | āgamair apakṛṣyante hastipair hastino yathā ||

Translation

وهكذا تُبتلى جميع الكائنات الحيّة بالضيق من الربح والخسارة معًا. وإنّما تعيدها إلى الطريق القويم تعاليمُ الكتب المقدّسة ذاتُ السلطان—كما يَكُفُّ سائسو الفيلة الفيلةَ ويقودونها بالمِهْمَاز.

Word by Word

एवम्thus, in this way

अर्थby/through wealth (gain)

अनर्थैःby/through misfortunes, harms

चand

दुःखिताःafflicted, distressed

सर्वजन्तवःall creatures

आगमैःby scriptures/traditions

अपकृष्यन्तेare drawn/pulled away (from wrong path)

हस्तिपैःby elephant-drivers (mahouts)

हस्तिनःelephants

यथाjust as

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

āgama (scriptural authority)

hastipa (mahout/elephant-driver)

hastin (elephant)

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Beings are tossed between gain and loss and therefore suffer; reliable scriptural guidance (āgama) functions as a corrective force that restrains and redirects them toward dharma, like a mahout controlling an elephant.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma continues his instruction in the Śānti Parva, using a vivid simile: as elephants are kept in check by elephant-drivers, so people—disturbed by worldly outcomes—are brought back to the right course by authoritative teachings.