Shloka 41

Brahmacarya-Upāya: Jñāna, Śauca, and the Mind’s Role in Desire (शान्ति पर्व, अध्याय २०७)

Devanagari script

एष भूतपतिस्तात स्वध्यक्षश्न तथोच्यते । निरपेक्षांश्व कौन्तेय कीर्तयिष्यामि तच्छूुणु,तात कुन्तीनन्दन! ये भगवान्‌ श्रीकृष्ण ही भूतनाथ एवं सबके अध्यक्ष कहे जाते हैं। अब जो नरकका दर्शन करनेवाले हैं, उनका वर्णन करता हूँ, सुनो

Transliteration

eṣa bhūtapatis tāta svādhyakṣaś ca tathocyate | nirapekṣānś ca kaunteya kīrtayiṣyāmi tac chṛṇu ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Mein Kind, Er wird der Herr der Wesen genannt und ebenso der Aufseher über alles. O Sohn der Kuntī, höre: Nun will ich jene schildern, die, nachlässig geworden und gleichgültig gegenüber rechter Lebensführung, dazu gelangen, die Reiche der Hölle zu schauen.“

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'eṣaḥ', 'definition': 'this (one), he (here referring to the Supreme Lord)'}, {'term': 'bhūtapatiḥ', 'definition': 'lord of beings

• ruler of all creatures'}, {'term': 'tāta', 'definition': 'dear child

• affectionate address'}, {'term': 'svādhyakṣaḥ', 'definition': 'overseer

• one who presides over all'}, {'term': 'tathā', 'definition': 'thus

• likewise'}, {'term': 'ucyate', 'definition': 'is called

• is said to be'}, {'term': 'kaunteya', 'definition': 'son of Kuntī

• Arjuna/Yudhiṣṭhira (vocative epithet)'}, {'term': 'nirapekṣān', 'definition': 'indifferent

• unconcerned (especially toward dharma and consequences)'}, {'term': 'kīrtayiṣyāmi', 'definition': 'I shall describe

• I shall recount'}, {'term': 'tat', 'definition': 'that (which is to be described)'}, {'term': 'śṛṇu', 'definition': 'listen'}]

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Kaunteya (son of Kuntī)
• Bhūtapati (Lord of beings)
• Svādhyakṣa (Overseer)
• Śrī Kṛṣṇa (as identified in the given Hindi gloss)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma frames the coming discussion of hell as an ethical warning: the Supreme Lord is the ruler and overseer of all beings, and those who become indifferent to dharma and moral responsibility face grievous consequences. The verse establishes divine oversight and accountability as the basis for the ensuing description of naraka.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma continues instructing the Kuru prince (addressed as Kaunteya). He identifies the Supreme as the Lord of beings and the universal overseer, then signals a transition: he will now recount the fate of those who come to witness hell, preparing the listener for a detailed moral-eschatological exposition.