Shloka 6

Śāṃtanu’s Ideal Rule; Devavrata’s Return; The Satyavatī Marriage Condition and Bhīṣma’s Vow (आदि पर्व, अध्याय ९४)

Devanagari script

शिबिरुवाच पृच्छामि त्वां शिबिरौशीनरोडहं ममापि लोका यदि सन्‍्तीह तात । यद्यन्तरिक्षे यदि वा दिवि श्रिता: क्षेत्रज्ञ त्वां तस्य धर्मस्य मनन्‍्ये,शिबिने कहा--तात! मैं उशीनरका पुत्र शिबि आपसे पूछता हूँ। यदि अन्तरिक्ष या स्वर्गमें मेरे भी पुण्यलोक हों, तो बताइये; क्योंकि मैं आपको उक्त धर्मका ज्ञाता मानता हूँ

Transliteration

śibir uvāca—pṛcchāmi tvāṃ śibir auśīnaro ’haṃ mamāpi lokā yadi santiha tāta | yady antarīkṣe yadi vā divi śritāḥ kṣetrajña tvāṃ tasya dharmasya manye ||

Translation

Śibi sprach: „Ich frage dich, ehrwürdiger Herr — ich bin Śibi, der Sohn Uśīnaras. Wenn für mich künftig verdienstvolle Welten bereitstehen, so sage es mir: ob sie in der Mittelregion (antarikṣa) liegen oder im Himmel gegründet sind. Denn ich halte dich für einen, der dieses Dharma wahrhaft kennt.“

Word by Word

{'śibiḥ''Śibi (name of the king/speaker)', 'uvāca': 'said', 'pṛcchāmi': 'I ask, I inquire', 'tvām': 'you (accusative singular)', 'auśīnaraḥ': 'descendant/son of Uśīnara

of the line of Uśīnara', 'aham''I', 'mama api': 'for me also

mine too', 'lokāḥ''worlds/realms (esp. posthumous, meritorious realms)', 'yadi': 'if', 'santi': 'are, exist', 'iha': 'here

in this matter/with respect to this', 'tāta''dear sir

venerable one (address)', 'antarīkṣe''in the mid-region/atmosphere (between earth and heaven)', 'divi': 'in heaven', 'śritāḥ': 'resting/established/located', 'kṣetrajña': 'knower of the field

one who knows the inner self and moral truth (herea wise knower)', 'dharma': 'dharma

righteous order, duty, moral law', 'tasya''of that', 'manye': 'I consider

Speaker

प्रतर्दन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śibi

Uśīnara

antarīkṣa

div (svarga/heaven)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic attitude of inquiry: a ruler seeks clarity about the moral consequences of his conduct (puṇya-lokas) and approaches a recognized knower of dharma with humility, treating ethical knowledge as something to be learned and verified.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śibi, identifying himself as the son of Uśīnara, addresses a revered interlocutor as “tāta” and asks whether he has earned posthumous blessed realms, and if so, whether they are in the intermediate region or in heaven—explicitly acknowledging the other person as a true knower of dharma.