Shloka 10

Ākiṃcanya–Tyāga Upadeśa

The Instruction on Non-ownership and Renunciation

Devanagari script

स तान्यतिमनोज्ञानि विहगानां रुतानि वै

Transliteration

sa tāny atimanojñāni vihagānāṃ rutāni vai

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Wahrlich, er lauschte jenen überaus lieblichen Rufen der Vögel“ — Klängen, die den Geist so sehr erfreuen, dass sie ihn nach innen sammeln, das Herz festigen und ein Leben in Zucht und rechter Lebensführung stützen.

Word by Word

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

• तानि: those (things/sounds)
• तानि: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• अतिमनोज्ञानि: exceedingly delightful/very charming
• अतिमनोज्ञानि: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतिमनोज्ञ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• विहगानाम्: of birds
• विहगानाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: विहग
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• रुतानि: cries/songs (uttered sounds)
• रुतानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• वै: indeed/verily
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• birds (vihagāḥ)
• bird-calls (rutāni)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the mind’s responsiveness to refined, non-violent pleasures (like birdsong), implying that calm attention and gentle sensory experience can aid composure, restraint, and a dharmic disposition.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes a scene in which a person (contextually, the subject of the surrounding passage) hears the exceptionally pleasing calls of birds, using this detail to set a contemplative tone within the Śānti Parva’s ethical instruction.