Shloka 36

गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow

Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode

Devanagari script

यथोपदेशं परिकीर्तितासु नर: प्रजायेत विचार्य बुद्धिमान । निहीनयोनिर्हि सुतो&5वसादयेत्‌ तितीर्षमाणं हि यथोपलो जले

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | yathopadeśaṃ parikīrtitāsu naraḥ prajāyeta vicārya buddhimān | nihīna-yonir hi suto ’vasādayet titīrṣamāṇaṃ hi yathopalo jale, rājan |

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: O König, ein weiser Mann soll Nachkommen nur nach sorgfältiger Erwägung zeugen, gemäß der Unterweisung der Weisen, und mit Frauen der bezeichneten Stände. Denn ein Sohn, der aus einem niedrigeren Schoß geboren ist, zieht seinen Vater hinab—wie ein Stein im Wasser den sinken lässt, der hinüberzuschwimmen sucht.

Word by Word

• {'yathā-upadeśam': 'according to instruction

• as taught', 'parikīrtitāsu': 'in those that have been described/enumerated (here: the specified women/classes)', 'naraḥ': 'a man', 'prajāyeta': 'should beget offspring

• should procreate', 'vicārya': 'having considered

• after deliberation', 'buddhimān': 'wise

• discerning', 'nihīna-yoniḥ': 'of inferior birth/womb

• low origin', 'sutaḥ': 'son', 'avasādayet': 'would cause to sink

• would ruin', 'titīrṣamāṇam': 'one wishing to cross over (especially the ocean of worldly existence)', 'upalaḥ': 'stone

• rock', 'jale': 'in water', 'rājan': 'O king'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• King (Yudhishthira, implied addressee)
• son (suta)
• stone (upala)
• water (jala)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that one should be deliberate and dharmic about begetting children, because an unworthy or improperly born son can become a heavy moral and practical burden, obstructing the father’s spiritual progress—like a stone that makes a swimmer sink.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing the king on dharma. Here he uses a vivid simile—stone in water—to warn about the consequences of producing offspring without proper consideration and adherence to the prescribed norms taught by sages.