Shloka 12

Sundopasundayor Digvijayaḥ — The Conquests of Sunda and Upasunda

Nārada’s Account

Devanagari script

तमिमं समुपातिष्ठ धर्म कुरुकुलोचितम्‌ । अनुरूप महाबाहो पूर्वेषामात्मन: कुरु,महाबाहो! कुरुकुलके लिये उचित इस उत्तम धर्मका पालन करो। अपने पूर्वजोंके अनुरूप कार्य करते रहो

Transliteration

tam imaṃ samupātiṣṭha dharmaṃ kurukulocitam | anurūpa mahābāho pūrveṣām ātmanaḥ kuru ||

Translation

Bhishma sprach: „Wahre eben dieses Dharma—edel und dem Kuru-Geschlecht geziemend. O du mit den mächtigen Armen, handle im Einklang mit deinen Vorfahren; richte dein Verhalten nach dem überlieferten Maß der Rechtschaffenheit.“

Word by Word

तम्that

इमम्this

समुपातिष्ठfollow; observe; adhere to

धर्मम्dharma; righteous duty

कुरुकुलोचितम्befitting the Kuru lineage

अनुरूपO fitting one; O worthy one

महाबाहोO mighty-armed one

पूर्वेषाम्of the former ones; of the ancestors

आत्मनःof yourself

कुरुdo; perform

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Kuru lineage (Kurukula)

forefathers/ancestors (pūrve)

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?

One should firmly uphold dharma that is appropriate to one’s station and lineage, and shape one’s actions to match the exemplary standards set by righteous ancestors.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is giving moral instruction to a heroic listener, urging him to adopt and maintain the Kuru-appropriate code of conduct and to act in continuity with ancestral tradition.