Shloka 117

Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)

Devanagari script

त॑ साक्षात्‌ पृथिवी भेजे रत्नान्यादाय पाण्डव

Transliteration

tāṁ sākṣāt pṛthivī bheje ratnāny ādāya pāṇḍava, pāṇḍunandana yudhiṣṭhira! tadā sākṣāt pṛthivī-devī ratnānāṁ bheṭaṁ gṛhītvā teṣāṁ sevāyām upasthitā āsīt. saritāṁ svāmī samudraḥ, parvateṣu śreṣṭho himavān tathā devarāja indraś ca akṣaya-dhanaṁ samarpitavān.

Translation

হে পাণ্ডব, পাণ্ডুনন্দন যুধিষ্ঠির! তখন স্বয়ং পৃথিবীদেবী রত্নের ভেট নিয়ে তাঁর সেবায় উপস্থিত হলেন; নদীদের অধিপতি সমুদ্র, পর্বতশ্রেষ্ঠ হিমবান এবং দেবরাজ ইন্দ্রও অক্ষয় ধন নিবেদন করলেন।

Word by Word

• सा: she (that)
• सा: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• साक्षात्: in person, directly
• साक्षात्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: साक्षात्

• पृथिवी: the Earth (goddess)
• पृथिवी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• भेजे: approached / resorted to
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भज्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• रत्नानि: gems, jewels
• रत्नानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रत्न
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• आदाय: having taken
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दा (आ + √दा)
• Form: Absolutive (Tumun/ल्यप्), आदाय

• पाण्डव: O Pāṇḍava
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• पाण्डु-नन्दन: O son of Pāṇḍu
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डुनन्दन
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• युधिष्ठिर: O Yudhiṣṭhira
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Pāṇḍu
• Pṛthivī-devī (Earth goddess)
• Samudra (Ocean)
• Himavān (Himālaya)
• Indra
• ratnāni (jewels)
• akṣaya-dhana (inexhaustible wealth)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Righteous rule aligned with dharma is portrayed as harmonizing the human and cosmic realms: when a king embodies dharma, even the powers of nature and the gods are said to support him with prosperity, symbolizing legitimacy, stability, and the ethical fruit of just governance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes a moment when personified Earth arrives with jewels to serve/offer tribute, and other great cosmic entities—Ocean, Himālaya, and Indra—also present inexhaustible wealth, emphasizing the extraordinary support surrounding Yudhiṣṭhira (or a dharmic ruler) in that context.