Shloka 4

Haṃsa–Sādhya Saṃvāda: Satya, Dama, Kṣamā and the Discipline of Speech

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच एवमुक्तस्तदा तार्क्ष्य: सर्वशास्त्रविदां वर: । विबुध्य सम्पदं चाग्र्यां सद्बाक्यमिदमब्रवीत्‌

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca evam uktas tadā tārkṣyaḥ sarvaśāstravidāṃ varaḥ | vibudhya sampadaṃ cāgryāṃ sadbākyam idam abravīt ||

Translation

قال بهيشما: «أيها الملك، لما خوطب ساغرا على هذا النحو، كان تَارْكشْيَ—وهو الأسبق بين العارفين بالشاسترا جميعاً—قد تبيّن أسمى الفضائل الإلهية، أعظمَ ثروةٍ باطنية، فنطق بهذه الكلمات السديدة من النصح.»

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'evam uktas', 'definition': 'thus spoken to

• thus addressed'}, {'term': 'tadā', 'definition': 'then

• at that time'}, {'term': 'tārkṣyaḥ', 'definition': 'Tārkṣya

• a proper name (here identified in the Gita Press note with Ariṣṭanemi)'}, {'term': 'sarva-śāstra-vidām varaḥ', 'definition': 'the best among all knowers of the śāstras (scriptural and disciplinary sciences)'}, {'term': 'vibudhya', 'definition': 'having understood

• having discerned clearly'}, {'term': 'sampad', 'definition': 'wealth

• endowment (often moral/spiritual ‘inner wealth’)'}, {'term': 'agr(y)ā', 'definition': 'foremost

• best'}, {'term': 'sad-bākyam', 'definition': 'good/wholesome words

• truthful and beneficial counsel'}, {'term': 'idam abravīt', 'definition': 'said this

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Tārkṣya (Ariṣṭanemi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames ethical instruction as grounded in śāstra and in discerning the ‘highest’ inner excellence (agrā sampad). It signals that the forthcoming advice is meant to be both true and beneficial (sad-bākya), i.e., morally elevating counsel rather than mere rhetoric.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma narrates that, after being questioned, Tārkṣya—renowned for scriptural mastery—reflects on the supreme form of ‘divine endowment’ and begins to instruct with well-formed, wholesome words. This verse serves as a transition into Tārkṣya’s teaching.