Shloka 23

उपदेशदोषप्रसङ्गः (Upadeśa-doṣa-prasaṅgaḥ) — The Risk of Misapplied Counsel

Devanagari script

अतिथीन्‌ पूजयामास यथावत्‌ समुपागतान्‌ । एवं हि सुमहान्‌ कालो व्यत्यक्रामत तस्य वै

Transliteration

atithīn pūjayāmāsa yathāvat samupāgatān | evaṁ hi sumahān kālo vyatyakrāmata tasya vai ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: Die Gäste, die zu ihm kamen, ehrte er gebührend und nach rechter Ordnung. So verging für ihn eine sehr lange Zeit auf diese Weise — in stetiger Übung von Gastfreundschaft und rechter Lebensführung.

Word by Word

• अतिथीन्: guests
• अतिथीन्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अतिथि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• पूजयामास: honoured / worshipped
• पूजयामास: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज्
• Form: Perfect (Periphrastic), Third, Singular

• यथावत्: duly, properly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथावत्

• समुपागतान्: who had arrived / come
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-उप-आ-गम्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural, क्त (past passive participle)

• एवम्: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• हि: indeed, for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• सुमहान्: very great
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुमहत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कालः: time
• कालः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• व्यत्यक्रामत: passed by / elapsed
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-अति-क्रम्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), Third, Singular

• तस्य: of him / his
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• वै: indeed, surely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• atithi (guests)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights atithi-satkara (honoring guests) as a practical expression of dharma: receiving those who come with due respect and propriety is itself a sustained ethical discipline.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes a person who regularly receives and honors arriving guests according to proper custom; as this routine of righteous hospitality continues, a long period of time passes.