Shloka 5

Śiśupāla-vākya: Bhīṣma-nindā and the ‘Haṃsa’ Exemplum (शिशुपालवाक्यम् — भीष्मनिन्दा, हंसदृष्टान्तः)

Devanagari script

वेद तत्त्वेन कृष्णं हि भीष्मश्वेदिपते भशम्‌ नहोन त्वं तथा वेत्थ यथैनं वेद कौरव:,“चेदिराज! भगवान्‌ श्रीकृष्णको यथार्थरूपसे हमारे पितामह भीष्मजी ही जानते हैं। कुरुनन्दन भीष्मजीको उनके तत्त्वका जैसा ज्ञान है, वैसा तुम्हें नहीं है!

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: veda tattvena kṛṣṇaṃ hi bhīṣmaḥ śvetipate bhṛśam; na hi no tvaṃ tathā vettha yathainaṃ veda kauravaḥ.

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Herr der Śvetis (König von Cedi), Bhīṣma erkennt Kṛṣṇa wahrhaft in seinem wirklichen Wesen und kennt ihn tief. Du kennst ihn nicht so, wie jener Kaurava (Bhīṣma) ihn kennt.“

Word by Word

वेदknows

तत्त्वेनin truth / by the real nature

कृष्णम्Krishna

हिindeed

भीष्मःBhishma

श्वेदिपतेO lord of the Shvedis (Chedi-king)

भशम्word-form unclear (corrupt reading)

नnot

अहोalas / indeed

नnot

त्वम्you

तथाthus / in that manner

वेत्थyou know

यथाas / in the way that

एनम्him (this one)

वेदknows

कौरवःthe Kuru (scion) / Kaurava

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kṛṣṇa

Bhīṣma

Śvetipati (Cedi king, i.e., Śiśupāla)

Kaurava (as an epithet for Bhīṣma)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True understanding of a great person—especially of the divine—requires tattva-jñāna (knowledge of real nature), and such discernment is often possessed by wise elders like Bhīṣma; mere status or rivalry does not grant that insight.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana addresses the Cedi king (Śiśupāla), asserting that Bhīṣma knows Kṛṣṇa’s true nature profoundly, and that Śiśupāla lacks the same level of understanding—setting a contrast between reverent insight and antagonistic misjudgment.