Shloka 63

उपदेशदोषप्रसङ्गः (Upadeśa-doṣa-prasaṅgaḥ) — The Risk of Misapplied Counsel

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच ततो विसृष्टो राज्ञा तु विप्रो दानान्‍न्यनेकश: । ब्राह्मणेभ्यो ददौ वित्तं भूमिं ग्रामांश्ष॒ सर्वश:

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | tato visṛṣṭo rājñā tu vipro dānāny anekaśaḥ | brāhmaṇebhyo dadau vittaṃ bhūmiṃ grāmāṃś ca sarvaśaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “Then, having been formally dismissed by the king, the priest bestowed many kinds of gifts upon numerous Brahmins—wealth, land, and even whole villages—distributing them in full measure.”

Word by Word

• भीष्मः: Bhishma
• भीष्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect, Third, Singular

• ततः: then/thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• विसृष्टः: dismissed/let go
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विसृष्ट
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राज्ञा: by the king
• राज्ञा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• तु: indeed/but
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• विप्रः: the Brahmin (priest)
• विप्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दानानि: gifts/donations
• दानानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• अनेकशः: in many ways/many times
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनेकशः

• ब्राह्मणेभ्यः: to the Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणेभ्यः: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Plural

• ददौ: gave
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा
• Form: Perfect, Third, Singular

• वित्तम्: wealth/money
• वित्तम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वित्त
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• भूमिम्: land
• भूमिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• ग्रामान्: villages
• ग्रामान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्राम
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सर्वशः: entirely/in every respect
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वशः

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• the king (rājā)
• the priest/Brahmin (vipra)
• Brahmins (brāhmaṇāḥ)
• wealth (vitta)
• land (bhūmi)
• villages (grāma)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Righteous kingship includes honoring sacred service and practicing generous, orderly giving; wealth is ethically used when redistributed as dāna for sustaining dharma and social stability.

What is happening in the narrative?

After receiving the king’s leave, the priest proceeds to distribute various gifts—money, land, and villages—to many Brahmins, indicating a large-scale, sanctioned act of charitable distribution.