Shloka 26

Śara-śayyā-sthita-bhīṣma-saṃvāda-prastāvaḥ

The Prelude to Questioning Bhīṣma on the Bed of Arrows

Devanagari script

शीतांशुश्नन्द्र इत्युक्ते लोके को विस्मयिष्यति । तथैव यशसा पूर्णे मयि को विस्मयिष्यति

Transliteration

śītāṃśuś candra iti ukte loke ko vismayiṣyati | tathaiva yaśasā pūrṇe mayi ko vismayiṣyati ||

Translation

قال فايُو: «إذا قيل في العالم: “إنّ للقمر أشعّةً باردة”، فمن ذا يندهش؟ لا أحد. وكذلك إذا نال المرءُ موعظةً رفيعةً منّي—أنا الربّ المكتملَ بالمجد—فمن، عند سماعها، ينبغي أن يستغرب؟»

Word by Word

• {'śītāṃśuḥ': 'the moon

• ‘cool-rayed’ (one whose rays are cool)', 'candraḥ': 'the moon', 'iti': 'thus

• ‘so’ (quotative particle)', 'ukte': 'when said

• upon being stated (locative absolute sense)', 'loke': 'in the world

• among people', 'kaḥ': 'who?', 'vismayiṣyati': 'will be astonished

• will marvel', 'tathā eva': 'just so

• in the same manner', 'yaśasā': 'with fame, glory, renown (instrumental)', 'pūrṇe': 'full, complete (locative singular

• ‘in one who is complete’)', 'mayi': 'in me', 'uttama-upadeśaḥ': 'excellent instruction/teaching (implied by the prose gloss)'}

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu (Vāyudeva)
• Candra (the Moon)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Do not treat genuine excellence as surprising when it arises from its natural source: wise counsel from a supremely glorious divine being is as expected as cool rays from the moon.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva speaks using an analogy: just as no one marvels at the moon being cool-rayed, one should not be astonished to receive lofty instruction from the Lord who is complete in renown.