Shloka 8

कुण्डधारोपाख्यानम्

Kuṇḍadhāra-Upākhyāna: Dharma’s Superiority over Wealth and Desire

Devanagari script

श्रद्धा वैवस्वती सेयं सूर्यस्य दुहिता द्विज । सावित्री प्रसवित्री च बहिर्वाड्मनसी ततः,“ब्रह्मन! श्रद्धा सूर्यकी पुत्री है, इसलिये उसे वैवस्वती, सावित्री और प्रसवित्री (विशुद्ध जन्मदायिनी) भी कहते हैं। वाणी और मन भी श्रद्धाकी अपेक्षा बहिरंग हैं

Transliteration

śraddhā vaivasvatī seyaṃ sūryasya duhitā dvija | sāvitrī prasavitrī ca bahirvāḍmanasī tataḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „O Zweimalgeborener, diese Śraddhā wird wahrlich Vaivasvatī genannt, denn sie ist die Tochter Sūryas. Darum heißt sie auch Sāvitrī und Prasavitrī, die reine Erzeugerin. So sind Rede und selbst der Geist im Verhältnis zur Śraddhā nur äußere Werkzeuge.“

Word by Word

श्रद्धाfaith

वैवस्वतीVaivasvatī (daughter of Vivasvat/the Sun)

साshe

इयम्this (woman/this one)

सूर्यस्यof the Sun

दुहिताdaughter

द्विजO twice-born (brahmin)

सावित्रीSāvitrī

प्रसवित्रीPrasavitrī (the begetter/producer)

चand

बहिःoutside; externally

वाक्speech

मनसीthe two minds / mind (dual form)

ततःthereafter; from that; therefore

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Śraddhā

Sūrya (Vivasvān/Savitṛ)

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?

Śraddhā (faithful inner conviction) is presented as a deeper, more foundational power than the outward instruments of speech and even the mind; it is the inner source that enables and sanctifies right intention and action.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he identifies Śraddhā through her epithets—Vaivasvatī, Sāvitrī, and Prasavitrī—linking her to the solar lineage, and then emphasizes her primacy by calling speech and mind ‘external’ relative to her.