Shloka 103

Āṇīmāṇḍavya–Upākhyāna

The Account of Āṇīmāṇḍavya and the Birth of Vidura

Devanagari script

देवव्रत (भीष्म)-की भीषण प्रतिज्ञा न ते मृत्यु: प्रभविता यावज्जीवितुमिच्छसि । त्वत्तो हानुज्ञां सम्प्राप्य मृत्यु: प्रभवितानधघ,वे बोले--'मेरे निष्पाप पुत्र! तुम जबतक यहाँ जीवित रहना चाहोगे, तबतक मृत्यु तुम्हारे ऊपर अपना प्रभाव नहीं डाल सकती। तुमसे आज्ञा लेकर ही मृत्यु तुमपर अपना प्रभाव प्रकट कर सकती है”

Transliteration

na te mṛtyuḥ prabhavitā yāvaj jīvitum icchasi | tvatto 'nujñāṃ samprāpya mṛtyuḥ prabhavitā anagha ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Makelloser, solange du hier zu leben wünschst, wird der Tod keine Macht über dich haben. Erst nachdem er deine Erlaubnis erlangt hat, wird der Tod seine Gewalt über dich ausüben können.“

Word by Word

• {'na': 'not', 'te': 'for you / upon you', 'mṛtyuḥ': 'Death (personified), death', 'prabhavitā': 'will have power, will prevail, will be effective', 'yāvat': 'as long as', 'jīvitum': 'to live', 'icchasi': 'you desire, you wish', 'tvattaḥ': 'from you', 'anujñām': 'permission, consent', 'samprāpya': 'having obtained, having received', 'anagha': 'O sinless one

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Mṛtyu (Death, personified)
• Devavrata (Bhīṣma) (implied addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights extraordinary self-command granted through merit and vow: life and death are shown as subject to dharmic authority and personal resolve, so that even Death acts only with consent.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the account narrated by Vaiśampāyana, Devavrata (later Bhīṣma) is assured that Death will not overcome him while he chooses to live; only when he grants permission will death take effect—establishing his famed power of choosing the time of death (icchā-mṛtyu).