Shloka 14

Bhīṣma’s Yogic Departure, Royal Cremation, and Gaṅgā’s Lament (भीष्मस्य योगयुक्त्या देहत्यागः, पितृमेधः, गङ्गाविलापः)

Devanagari script

जन्म चैव प्रसूतिश्व॒ यच्चान्यत्‌ कारणं विभो । वयं तु बहुचापल्यादशक्ता गुह्मधारणे

Transliteration

janma caiva prasūtiś ca yac cānyat kāraṇaṁ vibho | vayaṁ tu bahu-cāpalyād aśaktā guhya-dhāraṇe ||

Translation

Nārada sprach: „O Herr, weder deine Geburt in einem menschlichen Leib noch die verborgene Ursache dahinter — noch irgendetwas anderes — kann dir verborgen werden. Wir aber, von überaus flatterhafter Natur, haben uns als unfähig erwiesen, diese tiefgründige Sache in uns selbst bewahrt zu halten.“

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'janma', 'definition': 'birth

• coming into embodied existence'}, {'term': 'prasūtiḥ', 'definition': 'begetting

• bringing forth (birth/production)'}, {'term': 'yat', 'definition': 'that which

• whatever'}, {'term': 'anyat', 'definition': 'other

• something else'}, {'term': 'kāraṇam', 'definition': 'cause

• underlying ground'}, {'term': 'vibho', 'definition': 'O Mighty One

• O All-pervading Lord (vocative of vibhu)'}, {'term': 'vayam', 'definition': 'we'}, {'term': 'bahu-cāpalyāt', 'definition': 'due to great fickleness/restlessness (of mind or speech)'}, {'term': 'aśaktāḥ', 'definition': 'unable

• incapable'}, {'term': 'guhya', 'definition': 'secret

• confidential'}, {'term': 'dhāraṇe', 'definition': 'in holding/retaining

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Vibhu (the Lord addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the Lord’s omniscience—nothing about His incarnation or its hidden purpose is unknown to Him—while stressing human limitation: even sages may fail to preserve secrecy due to mental or verbal restlessness. It models humility and careful speech around sacred or confidential truths.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada addresses the Lord (vibhu), acknowledging that the Lord already knows the facts of His human birth and its concealed cause. Nārada then admits that “we” (the speakers/attendants) could not keep this deep matter hidden, implying that a secret has been disclosed or is about to be spoken openly.