Shloka 40

अध्याय १७८ — प्राणवायुगतिः तथा शारीराग्निव्यवस्था

Adhyāya 178 — The courses of prāṇa-vāyu and the regulation of the bodily fire

Devanagari script

निर्वेदमहमासाद्य द्रव्यनाशाद्‌ यदृच्छया । निर्वत्तिं परमां प्राप्प नाद्य कामान्‌ विचिन्तये

Transliteration

nirvedam aham āsādya dravyanāśād yadṛcchayā | nirvṛttiṁ paramāṁ prāpya nādya kāmān vicintaye ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Als durch bloßen Zufall mein Reichtum vernichtet wurde, gelangte ich zu tiefer Entsagung. Da ich den höchsten Frieden und die höchste Genügsamkeit erlangt habe, grüble ich nicht länger über Vergnügungen und Sinnengenüsse.“

Word by Word

• निर्वेदम्: dispassion, disgust (with worldly life)
• निर्वेदम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्वेद
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Nominative, Singular

• आसाद्य: having attained/obtained
• आसाद्य: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√सद्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage), —, —, —

• द्रव्यनाशात्: from the loss of wealth/property
• द्रव्यनाशात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रव्यनाश
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• यदृच्छया: by chance, accidentally
• यदृच्छया: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: यदृच्छा
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• निर्वृत्तिम्: cessation, peace, contentment
• निर्वृत्तिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्वृत्ति
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• परमाम्: supreme, highest
• परमाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• प्राप्य: having obtained/reached
• प्राप्य: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√आप्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage), —, —, —

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अद्य: today/now
• अद्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्य

• कामान्: desires, enjoyments
• कामान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• विचिन्तये: I think about/ponder
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-√चिन्त्
• Form: Present, Indicative, Atmanepada, First, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Worldly wealth is unstable; when attachment to it breaks, one can awaken to nirveda (disenchantment) and attain nirvṛtti (inner cessation/peace). Ethical life is strengthened when the mind stops chasing kāma (sense-pleasures) and rests in contentment.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction within the Śānti Parva, he speaks in the first person to illustrate a moral insight: an unexpected loss of wealth became the occasion for dispassion, leading him to supreme tranquility and a resolve not to dwell on pleasures.