Shloka 10

Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)

Devanagari script

आपसट्यमानमृक्थं तु सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि भारत

Transliteration

āpasatyamānam ṛkthaṃ tu sampravakṣyāmi bhārata

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „O Bharata, nun will ich die Angelegenheit des Erbes darlegen, das unrechtmäßig an sich gerissen wird — Besitz, der unter falschen Vorwänden genommen wird — damit seine sittlichen und rechtlichen Folgen verstanden werden.“

Word by Word

• आपसत्यमानम्: Āpasatya (a name/epithet, addressed person)
• आपसत्यमानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आपसत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अमृक्थम्: unmixed, unadulterated, pure
• अमृक्थम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमृक्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

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

• सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि: I shall declare / explain fully
• सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: Simple Future (Luṭ), First, Singular, Parasmaipada

• भारत: O Bhārata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Bhārata (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma signals a dharma-based exposition on inheritance (ṛktha), especially cases where rightful property is distorted or seized through false claims. The ethical focus is that ownership and succession must rest on truth and justice, not deception.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma continues instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he transitions into a specific topic: explaining rules and moral considerations regarding inheritance and wrongful appropriation of ancestral property.