Shloka 83

आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः

Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच ग्राहयित्वा तु तं॑ स्वार्थ मार्जार मूषिकस्तथा । प्रविवेश तु विश्रभ्य क्रोडमस्य कृतागस:,भीष्मजी कहते हैं--युधिष्ठिर! इस प्रकार चूहेने बिलावसे अपने मतलबकी बात स्वीकार कराकर और स्वयं भी उसका विश्वास करके उस अपराधी शत्रुकी भी गोदमें जा बैठा

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca: grāhayitvā tu taṁ svārthaṁ mārjāra-mūṣikas tathā | praviveśa tu viśrabdhya kroḍam asya kṛtāgasaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma sprach: „O Yudhishthira, so geschah es: Die Maus brachte die Katze dazu, den Standpunkt anzunehmen, der ihrem eigenen Vorteil diente; und in fehlgeleitetem Vertrauen trat sie unbesorgt ein und setzte sich in den Schoß jenes sündigen Übeltäters—ihres Feindes.“

Word by Word

भीष्मःBhishma

उवाचsaid

ग्राहयित्वाhaving caused (him) to accept / having made (him) agree

तुbut/indeed

तम्him

स्वार्थम्one's own interest/purpose

मार्जारःthe cat

मूषिकःthe mouse/rat

तथाthus/in that manner

प्रविवेशentered

तुindeed/and

विश्रभ्यhaving trusted / having become confident

क्रोडम्lap/bosom

अस्यof him/this (i.e., of that one)

कृतागसःone who has committed an offense; guilty

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

mouse (mūṣika)

cat (mārjāra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

One should not let self-interest and clever persuasion replace discernment: trusting an acknowledged wrongdoer—especially an enemy—can turn apparent safety into immediate peril.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s illustrative tale, the mouse gets the cat to accept a proposal that benefits the mouse; then, becoming overly confident, the mouse even sits in the cat’s lap—despite the cat being a culpable enemy—showing the danger of misplaced trust.