Shloka 88

Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment

Parāśara’s Instruction

Devanagari script

नमो नर्तनशीलाय मुखवादित्रवादिने । नाद्योपहारलुब्धाय गतिवादित्रशालिने

Transliteration

namo nartanaśīlāya mukhavāditravādine | nādyopahāralubdhāya gativāditraśāline ||

Translation

أُقَدِّمُ السُّجودَ والتَّحِيَّةَ لَكَ، يا مَن لا يَفْتُرُ عَنِ الرَّقْصِ المُنْتَظِمِ الإِيقَاع؛ يا مَن يُحْسِنُ إِخْرَاجَ النَّغَمِ حَتّى بِالفَمِ كَأَنَّهُ آلَةٌ نَفْخِيَّة؛ يا مَن يَرْضَى بِالقُرْبَانِ المُقَدَّمِ مَعَ الغِنَاءِ وَالأَدَاءِ؛ يا مَن يَتَجَلّى بِبَهَاءٍ لِإِتْقَانِ اللَّحْنِ وَالإِيقَاعِ وَفَنِّ الآلَات. لَكَ أَنْحَنِي بِالإِجْلَال.

Word by Word

• नमः: salutation, homage
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस्
• Form: true

• नर्तनशीलाय: to the one whose nature is dancing
• नर्तनशीलाय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नर्तनशील
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• मुखवादित्रवादिने: to the player of mouth-instruments (wind instruments)
• मुखवादित्रवादिने: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुखवादित्रवादिन्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• नाद्योपहारलुब्धाय: to the one eager/greedy for offerings of lotus-flowers
• नाद्योपहारलुब्धाय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नाद्योपहारलुब्ध
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• गतिवादित्रशालिने: to the one adorned with (skill in) song/dance and instruments
• गतिवादित्रशालिने: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गतिवादित्रशालिन्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• the praised deity (implicitly Śiva as Naṭarāja/Tāṇḍava-dancer)
• vāditra (musical instruments)
• upahāra (offerings)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Devotion can be expressed through disciplined arts—dance, rhythm, and music—when offered as worship. The verse values sincere offering and cultivated skill as a dharmic mode of reverence, turning aesthetic practice into spiritual homage.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma continues a hymn-like praise, saluting a deity characterized by perpetual dance and musical mastery, and describing the deity’s delight in offerings made through performance. It functions as devotional glorification within Bhīṣma’s broader instruction.