Shloka 5

Āpad-dharma and Discernment in Livelihood (आपद्धर्मे विज्ञानबलम्)

Devanagari script

षष्टिं वर्षसहस्राणि सो5तप्यद्‌ गौतमस्तप: । तमुग्रतपसा युक्त भावितं सुमहामुनिम्‌

Transliteration

ṣaṣṭiṁ varṣa-sahasrāṇi so 'tapyad gautamas tapaḥ | tam ugra-tapasā yuktaṁ bhāvitaṁ su-mahā-munim |

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: Sechzigtausend Jahre lang übte Gautama Askese. Mit strenger, ja furchtbarer Disziplin der Entsagung begabt, stand jener große Weise—durch seinen Tapas geläutert und geistig gereift—als Vorbild der Selbstbeherrschung und inneren Kraft. (Im Fortgang der Erzählung kommt Yama, Hüter der sittlichen Ordnung, um den vollendeten Asketen zu schauen.)

Word by Word

• षष्टिम्: sixty
• षष्टिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: षष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• वर्षसहस्राणि: thousands of years
• वर्षसहस्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्षसहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अतप्यत्: performed austerity / did penance
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• गौतमः: Gautama
• गौतमः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गौतम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तपः: austerity, penance
• तपः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• उग्रतपसा: by fierce austerity
• उग्रतपसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: उग्रतपस्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• युक्तम्: endowed, engaged
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युज्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, Past passive participle (kta)

• भावितम्: purified, perfected
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भू
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, Past passive participle (kta)

• सुमहामुनिम्: the very great sage
• सुमहामुनिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुमहामुनि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Gautama

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sustained tapas (disciplined austerity) purifies and matures a person, generating inner authority and moral force; such self-restraint is presented as a foundation for dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes Gautama’s extraordinarily long austerities and his resulting spiritual refinement, setting the stage for the next event in which Yama (as guardian of dharma) comes to meet or observe the accomplished sage.