Shloka 25

Devanagari script

अणीयसामणीयांसं स्थविष्ठं च स्थवीयसाम्‌ | गरीयसां गरिष्ठं च श्रेष्ठ च श्रेयसामपि

Transliteration

aṇīyasām aṇīyāṁsaṁ sthaviṣṭhaṁ ca sthavīyasām | garīyasāṁ gariṣṭhaṁ ca śreṣṭhaṁ ca śreyasām api ||

Translation

ভীষ্মে ক’লে—তেওঁ সূক্ষ্মতকৈও অধিক সূক্ষ্ম, স্থূলতকৈও অধিক স্থূল; গুৰুভাৰতকৈও অধিক গুৰুভাৰী, আৰু শ্ৰেষ্ঠতকৈও পৰম শ্ৰেষ্ঠ।

Word by Word

अणीयसाम्of the subtler (things/beings)

अणीयांसम्the subtlest (one)

स्थविष्ठम्the most massive / the grossest (one)

चand

स्थवीयसाम्of the more massive (things/beings)

गरीयसाम्of the weightier / more venerable (ones)

गरिष्ठम्the heaviest / most venerable (one)

चand

श्रेष्ठम्the best / most excellent (one)

चand

श्रेयसाम्of the good / auspicious (things)

अपिeven / also

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches the transcendence and supremacy of the Absolute: it surpasses all relative comparisons—subtlety, magnitude, weight, and excellence—so it cannot be confined to ordinary categories and should be contemplated as the highest reality underlying all.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and higher knowledge. Here he uses a chain of comparatives and superlatives to characterize the Supreme principle, reinforcing a contemplative, liberation-oriented frame within his counsel.