Shloka 14

Devanagari script

अतृप्यन्तस्तु साधूनां य एवागमबुद्धय: । परमित्येव संतुष्टास्तानुपास्व च पूच्छ च

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | atṛpyantastu sādhūnāṃ ya evāgamabuddhayaḥ | paramityeva saṃtuṣṭās tānupāsva ca pṛccha ca ||

Translation

Bhishma sprach: „In solcher Lage diene jenen großen Seelen, die sich niemals an der Gemeinschaft der Tugendhaften sattsehen, deren Geist von der Autorität der heiligen Überlieferung (Āgama) geleitet wird, die in Genügsamkeit verharren und allein den Dharma als das Höchste ansehen. Halte dich zu ihnen und frage, um deine Zweifel zu lösen.“

Word by Word

• अतृप्यन्तः: not getting satiated, ever unsated
• अतृप्यन्तः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतृप्यत् (तृप् धातु, शतृ-प्रत्यय; नकार-पूर्वक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• साधूनाम्: of the virtuous (saints)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साधु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• ये: who
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• एव: only/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• आगम-बुद्धयः: those whose understanding is based on scripture/tradition
• आगम-बुद्धयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आगमबुद्धि
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• परम्: supreme, highest (as the object of 'thinking/holding')
• परम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (परम)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• एव: indeed/only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• सन्तुष्टाः: content, satisfied
• सन्तुष्टाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सन्तुष्ट (सम्+तुष् धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तान्: them
• तान्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• उपास्व: serve, attend upon
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-आस् (आस् धातु)
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular

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

• पृच्छ: ask, inquire
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रच्छ्/पृच्छ् (प्रच्छ् धातु)
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular

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

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• sādhūḥ (the virtuous/saints)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Seek guidance from truly virtuous, content, tradition-grounded people; serve them respectfully and inquire to remove doubts—treating Dharma as the highest aim.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction section (Anushasana Parva), he advises the listener to stay close to saintly persons, serve them, and ask questions—presenting this as the practical method for learning Dharma.