Shloka 10

Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 137 — Bhīṣma–Droṇa Counsel and the Ethics of Restraint

Devanagari script

रक्षेमां पृथिवीं सर्वा मृत्योर्दष्टान्तरं गताम्‌

Transliteration

rakṣemāṃ pṛthivīṃ sarvāṃ mṛtyor daṣṭāntaraṃ gatām

Translation

قال فايشامبايانا: «فلنحمِ هذه الأرض كلَّها، وقد انزلقت إلى بين فكيّ الموت—مُعَضَّةً ومُساقَةً إلى خطره».

Word by Word

रक्षेमlet us protect

इमाम्this

पृथिवीम्earth

सर्वाम्entire, whole

मृत्योःfrom death

दष्टान्तरम्the interval/space after being bitten (i.e., the critical gap before death)

गताम्gone to, having reached

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pṛthivī (Earth)

Mṛtyu (Death)

Character Dynamics

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?

The verse frames righteous leadership as protective responsibility: when society is endangered—likened to the earth being seized by Death—those with power and counsel must act to safeguard the common good rather than remain passive.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vaiśampāyana’s narration during the Udyoga Parva (the period of diplomatic effort before war), the situation is portrayed as a grave, near-fatal crisis for the world-order; the line urges immediate protection of the realm as it stands on the brink of destruction.