Shloka 11

अध्याय १७८ — प्राणवायुगतिः तथा शारीराग्निव्यवस्था

Adhyāya 178 — The courses of prāṇa-vāyu and the regulation of the bodily fire

Devanagari script

उद्यम्योद्यम्य मे दम्यौ विषमेणैव गच्छत: । उत्क्षिप्प काकतालीयमुत्पथेनैव धावत:

Transliteration

udyamyodyamya me damyau viṣameṇaiva gacchataḥ | utkṣipya kākātālīyam utpathenaiva dhāvataḥ ||

Translation

এই উটটোৱে মোৰ দুটা প্ৰিয় বাছুৰক বাৰে বাৰে জোকাৰি অসম পথেদিয়েই আগবাঢ়িছে। কাক-তালীয় ন্যায়ৰ দৰে কেৱল দেৱসংযোগত সিহঁতক গলাত তুলি কুপথে দৌৰি গৈছে। উটৰ কণ্ঠত মোৰ প্ৰিয় বাছুৰ দুটা যেন দুটা মণিৰ দৰে ঝুলিছে। এয়া দেৱৰ লীলা মাথোঁ; হঠপূৰ্বক কৰা পুৰুষাৰ্থে কি-ই বা সাধে?

Word by Word

• उद्यम्य: having lifted/raised
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-यम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपद-भावार्थ

• उद्यम्य: having lifted (again)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-यम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपद-भावार्थ

• मे: of me / my
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन

• दम्यौ: the two calves (young ones)
• दम्यौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दम्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन

• विषमेण: by/through an uneven (path)
• विषमेण: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विषम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• एव: indeed/only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• गच्छतः: (they) go / are going
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथम, द्विवचन, परस्मैपद

• उत्क्षिप्य: having tossed up / having lifted up
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपद-भावार्थ

• काकतालीयम्: the ‘crow-and-palm’ coincidence (chance occurrence)
• काकतालीयम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: काकतालीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• उत्पथेन: by/along a wrong path
• उत्पथेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्पथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• एव: indeed/only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• धावतः: (they) run / are running
• Type: Verb
• Root: धाव् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथम, द्विवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• camel (uṣṭra, implied by the Hindi gloss)
• two calves/young ones (damyau)
• kākātālīya-nyāya (maxim of coincidence)
• fate/daiva (implied by the Hindi gloss)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the tension between daiva (fate) and puruṣārtha (human effort): events may unfold through sheer coincidence and uncontrollable forces, so one should not assume that stubborn exertion alone guarantees outcomes; wisdom lies in recognizing limits and cultivating equanimity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma uses a vivid image: a camel rushes along a harsh, wrong path while two young calves hang from its neck like jewels—an accidental, ‘kākātālīya’ occurrence. The scene becomes an illustration that some situations arise from chance/fate rather than deliberate planning.