Shloka 10

Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda

Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity

Devanagari script

अर्धेनैतानि सर्वाणि नृपति: कथ्यतेडधिक: । त्रिवर्गसहितं शास्त्र पवित्र पुण्यलक्षणम्‌

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | ardhenaitāni sarvāṇi nṛpatiḥ kathyate 'dhikaḥ | trivarga-sahitaṃ śāstraṃ pavitraṃ puṇya-lakṣaṇam |

Translation

Bhishma sprach: „Ein König gilt als einer, der einen größeren Anteil an Schuld trägt; daher wiegen diese Sünden nicht einmal halb so schwer wie die des Königs. Darum ist es verboten, eine Gabe des Königs anzunehmen. Die heilige Lehre, die die drei Lebensziele—dharma, artha und kāma—darlegt, reinigt und offenbart die Kennzeichen des Verdienstes.“

Word by Word

• {'bhīṣma uvāca': 'Bhishma said', 'ardhena': 'by half

• even to the extent of half', 'etāni sarvāṇi': 'all these (faults/sins mentioned in context)', 'nṛpatiḥ': 'king

• ruler', 'kathyate': 'is said

• is described', 'adhikaḥ': 'greater

• more (in degree)', 'trivarga': 'the triad of human aims: dharma (duty), artha (prosperity), kāma (desire)', 'sahitam': 'endowed with

• accompanied by', 'śāstram': 'authoritative teaching

• treatise', 'pavitram': 'pure

• sacred', 'puṇya-lakṣaṇam': 'having the character/signs of merit

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• King (nṛpati)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse stresses ethical caution regarding royal gifts: because a king is said to carry a heavier burden of fault, taking a king’s donation is treated as spiritually risky and thus prohibited in this context. It also affirms that śāstra guiding the trivarga (dharma, artha, kāma) is purifying and a marker of merit.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he comments on comparative culpability and the moral implications of receiving gifts from rulers, while invoking the authority of śāstra that teaches the three aims of life.