Shloka 7

Jñāna-yoga and Karma-phala: Manu–Bṛhaspati on Akṣara and the Limits of Mantra

Devanagari script

आर्द्रपाणि: समुत्तिछेन्नार्द्रपाद: स्वपेन्निशि । देवर्षिनरिद: प्राह एतदाचारलक्षणम्‌

Transliteration

ārdrapāṇiḥ samuttiṣṭhenn ārdrapādaḥ svapenn niśi | devarṣir naridaḥ prāha etad ācāralakṣaṇam ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Man soll nicht mit nassen Händen aufstehen und nachts nicht mit nassen Füßen schlafen.“ Der göttliche Seher Nārada erklärte dies zum Kennzeichen rechten Benehmens.

Word by Word

आर्द्रपाणिःone whose hands are wet

समुत्तिष्ठेत्should rise up

आर्द्रपादःone whose feet are wet

स्वपेत्should sleep

निशिat night

देवर्षिःthe divine sage

नरदःNarada

प्राहsaid

एतत्this

आचारलक्षणम्the mark/definition of proper conduct

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Nārada

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches attentiveness to personal discipline and cleanliness as part of dharma: certain small habits (like not rising with wet hands and not sleeping with wet feet) are presented as signs of proper conduct (ācāra).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on dharma and right living; here he cites the authority of the seer Nārada to define a specific ‘mark of good conduct’ (ācāralakṣaṇa) in everyday behavior.