Shloka 41

Viśvāmitra-janma: Ṛcīka–Satyavatī–Gādhi and the Charu Exchange (विश्वामित्र-जन्म: ऋचीक–सत्यवती–गाधि वृत्तान्तः)

Devanagari script

क्षत्रियं तूग्रकर्माणं त्वं भद्रे जनयिष्यसि । नहि ते तत्‌ कृतं साधु मातृस्नेहेन भाविनि

Transliteration

kṣatriyaṃ tūgrakarmāṇaṃ tvaṃ bhadre janayiṣyasi | nahi te tat kṛtaṃ sādhu mātṛsnehena bhāvini ||

Translation

ভীষ্মে ক’লে—হে শুভে! তুমি উগ্ৰকৰ্মা এজন ক্ষত্ৰিয়ক জন্ম দিবা। ভবিনী, মাতৃস্নেহৰ মোহত তুমি যি কৰিলা, সেয়া প্ৰশংসনীয় নহয়। তুমি আৰু তোমাৰ মাতৃয়ে যি বিনিময় কৰিছা, তাৰ ফলত তোমাৰ মাতৃয়ে ব্ৰাহ্মণ-ভাগ্যত নিৰ্দিষ্ট উৎকৃষ্ট পুত্ৰক জন্ম দিব, আৰু তুমি ভয়ংকৰ কৰ্মৰ যোদ্ধাৰ জননী হ’বা।

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'kṣatriyam', 'definition': 'a Kshatriya

• member of the warrior-ruler class'}, {'term': 'ugra-karmāṇam', 'definition': 'one whose deeds are fierce/terrible

• of violent or formidable actions'}, {'term': 'bhadre', 'definition': 'O good/auspicious lady (vocative of address)'}, {'term': 'janayiṣyasi', 'definition': 'you will beget/give birth to'}, {'term': 'nahi', 'definition': 'indeed not

• certainly not'}, {'term': 'tat', 'definition': 'that (act/thing just mentioned)'}, {'term': 'kṛtam', 'definition': 'done

• performed'}, {'term': 'sādhu', 'definition': 'good, proper, commendable'}, {'term': 'mātṛ-snehena', 'definition': 'through/owing to affection for one’s mother

• maternal attachment'}, {'term': 'bhāvini', 'definition': 'O future one

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma criticizes an action motivated by excessive attachment (mātṛ-sneha), stressing that emotional partiality can lead to ethically improper choices and far-reaching consequences, including the shaping of future outcomes (offspring and destiny).

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma addresses a woman and foretells the result of a mother–daughter exchange: the mother will bear a son suited to Brahmin excellence, while the daughter will bear a fierce Kshatriya. He judges the exchange as not proper because it was driven by maternal affection rather than right discernment.