Shloka 15

Gautama–Yama Saṃvāda: Mātṛ-Pitṛ-Ṛṇa (Debt to Parents) and Śubha-Loka Attainment

Devanagari script

भवन्त: सुमहाभागास्तस्मात्‌ पृच्छामि संशयम्‌ । आशावान्‌ पुरुषो यः स्यादन्तरिक्षमथापि वा

Transliteration

bhavantaḥ sumahābhāgās tasmāt pṛcchāmi saṁśayam | āśāvān puruṣo yaḥ syād antarīkṣam athāpi vā |

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Ihr seid überaus begnadet und vollendet; darum frage ich euch, um meinen Zweifel zu lösen. Wenn auf der einen Seite ein Mann steht, der von Hoffnung getragen wird, und auf der anderen der grenzenlose Himmel — wer von beiden erscheint euch nach dem Maß der Welt an Größe größer? Ich wünsche die Wahrheit darüber zu hören. Wahrlich, nachdem ich hierher gekommen bin, was sollte noch schwer zu erlangen sein?“

Word by Word

• भवन्तः: you (honorific), sirs
• भवन्तः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: भवत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सुमहाभागाः: very fortunate / greatly blessed
• सुमहाभागाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुमहाभाग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तस्मात्: therefore, hence
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तस्मात् (तद्)

• पृच्छामि: I ask
• पृच्छामि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रच्छ्
• Form: Present, First, Singular, Parasmaipada

• संशयम्: doubt
• संशयम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आशावान्: hopeful
• आशावान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आशावत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पुरुषः: man, person
• पुरुषः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• स्यात्: would be / may be
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अन्तरिक्षम्: mid-air, sky, space
• अन्तरिक्षम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तरिक्ष
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अथ: and then / or else
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

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

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• antarīkṣa (the sky/mid-space)
• āśāvān puruṣa (the hopeful person)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a moral-philosophical inquiry: true ‘greatness’ is not only cosmic vastness (the sky) but may lie in the human capacity for hope and aspiration, which drives effort, endurance, and ethical striving.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma respectfully addresses revered interlocutors (tapasvins/wise ones) and asks them to settle a doubt by comparing the greatness of a hopeful person with the vast sky, requesting a principled, truthful explanation.