Shloka 19

Devanagari script

अपि यज्ञस्य वेत्तारो दत्तस्य सुकृतस्य च । अदृश्या: सर्वभूतेषु पश्यन्ति त्रिदशेश्वरा:

Transliteration

api yajñasya vettāro dattasyāḥ sukṛtasya ca | adṛśyāḥ sarvabhūteṣu paśyanti tridaśeśvarāḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Es gibt auch die göttlichen Herren—Kenner des Opfers (yajña), der gespendeten Gaben und der verdienstvollen Taten—die, obgleich selbst unsichtbar, unter allen Wesen (die sittliche Beschaffenheit der Handlungen) beobachten.“

Word by Word

• अपि: also, even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• यज्ञस्य: of the sacrifice
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• वेत्तारः: knowers
• वेत्तारः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेतृ (विद्-धातु से)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• दत्तस्य: of the gift given (charity)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दत्त (दा-धातु, क्त)
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• सुकृतस्य: of merit / good deed
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुकृत
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अदृश्याः: invisible
• अदृश्याः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अदृश्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सर्वभूतेषु: among/in all beings
• सर्वभूतेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वभूत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Plural

• पश्यन्ति: they see
• Type: Verb
• Root: पश्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• त्रिदशेश्वराः: lords of the thirty (gods)
• त्रिदशेश्वराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिदशेश्वर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• tridaśeśvarāḥ (divine lords/gods)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That sacrifice (yajña), charity (dāna), and meritorious conduct (sukṛta) are not morally invisible: divine powers, though unseen, witness actions across all beings, reinforcing accountability and the ethical weight of one’s deeds.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma, he explains that certain divine lords—described as knowers of sacrifice, gifts, and merit—remain unseen yet continually observe the conduct of living beings, setting up a broader discussion of moral surveillance and the fruits of actions.