Shloka 37

Devanagari script

ताराणां पतन दृष्ट्वा नक्षत्राणां च पर्ययम्‌ । द्न्द्धानां विप्रयोगं च विज्ञाय कृपणं नूप,नरेश्वर! घोर उत्पात, चन्द्रग्रहण, सूर्यग्रहण, ताराओंका टूटकर गिरना, नक्षत्रोंकी गतिमें उलट-फेर होना तथा पति-पत्नियोंका दुःखदायक वियोग होना आदि बातें, जो इस जगतमें घटित होती हैं, उनको भी जानकर अपने कल्याणका उपाय करना चाहिये

Transliteration

tārāṇāṁ patanaṁ dṛṣṭvā nakṣatrāṇāṁ ca paryayam | dvandvānāṁ viprayogaṁ ca vijñāya kṛpaṇaṁ nṛpa naraśvara || ghora-utpāta-candra-grahaṇa-sūrya-grahaṇa-tārāṇāṁ tūṭakara-giranaṁ nakṣatrāṇāṁ gatiṣu ulṭa-pheraḥ pati-patnyoḥ duḥkhadāyaka-viyogaś ca—etāni jagati ghaṭamānāni jñātvā sva-kalyāṇasya upāyaṁ kartavyaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Wenn man Sterne fallen sieht, die Unordnung in den Bahnen der Sternbilder beobachtet und das schmerzliche Zerreißen paariger Bindungen erkennt, o König—o Herr der Menschen—soll man begreifen, dass dies die schrecklichen Vorzeichen sind, die in der Welt auftreten: Mond- und Sonnenfinsternisse, Sterne, die zerbrechen und herabstürzen, Umkehrungen in der Bewegung der nakṣatras und die kummervolle Trennung von Mann und Frau. Wer solche Zeichen kennt, soll die Mittel zu seinem eigenen Heil ergreifen.“

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'tārā', 'meaning': 'star'}, {'term': 'patana', 'meaning': 'falling, descent'}, {'term': 'dṛṣṭvā', 'meaning': 'having seen'}, {'term': 'nakṣatra', 'meaning': 'lunar mansion/constellation

• asterism'}, {'term': 'paryaya', 'meaning': 'change, reversal, irregular alternation'}, {'term': 'dvandva', 'meaning': 'a pair

• a coupled relation (also: duality/opposites)'}, {'term': 'viprayoga', 'meaning': 'separation, disunion'}, {'term': 'vijñāya', 'meaning': 'having understood/recognized'}, {'term': 'kṛpaṇa', 'meaning': 'wretched, pitiable

• in distress'}, {'term': 'nṛpa / naraśvara', 'meaning': 'king

• lord of men'}, {'term': 'ghora', 'meaning': 'terrible, dreadful'}, {'term': 'utpāta', 'meaning': 'portent, ominous phenomenon'}, {'term': 'grahaṇa', 'meaning': 'eclipse (lit. ‘seizing’)'}, {'term': 'candra / sūrya', 'meaning': 'moon / sun'}, {'term': 'jagat', 'meaning': 'the world'}, {'term': 'kalyāṇa', 'meaning': 'welfare, auspicious good'}, {'term': 'upāya', 'meaning': 'means, remedy, practical course'}, {'term': 'kartavya', 'meaning': 'what ought to be done

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• nṛpa (the king addressed, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira in context)
• tārā (stars)
• nakṣatra (constellations/lunar mansions)
• candra (moon)
• sūrya (sun)
• grahaṇa (eclipse)
• utpāta (portents)
• pati-patnī (husband and wife)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma urges the king to read the world’s disturbances—cosmic irregularities and social ruptures—as warnings that life is unstable, and therefore to actively pursue one’s true welfare (kalyāṇa) through right conduct and prudent action rather than complacency.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma lists ominous phenomena—eclipses, falling stars, altered stellar motions, and painful separations within human relationships—to impress upon the ruler the urgency of taking corrective, dharmic measures for personal and public well-being.