Shloka 3

Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)

Devanagari script

दक्षे शमदमोपेते निर्ममे धर्मचारिणि । पृच्छामि त्वां वरारोहे पृष्टा वद ममेप्सितम्‌

Transliteration

dakṣe śamadamopete nirmame dharmacāriṇi | pṛcchāmi tvāṃ varārohe pṛṣṭā vada mamepsitam ||

Translation

O capable one, endowed with tranquility and self-restraint, free from pride, and devoted to righteous conduct—O fair-hipped lady, I question you. Since you have been asked, speak what I wish to know.

Word by Word

• दक्षे: in/with the capable one
• दक्षे: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• शमदमोपेते: endowed with tranquility and self-control
• शमदमोपेते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शम-दम-उपेत
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• निर्ममे: created / fashioned
• Type: Verb
• Root: निर्मा
• Form: Perfect, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• धर्मचारिणि: in the righteous-practicing one
• धर्मचारिणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्मचारिन्
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• पृच्छामि: I ask
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रच्छ्
• Form: Present, First, Singular, Parasmaipada

• त्वाम्: you
• त्वाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Accusative, Singular

• वरारोहे: O fair-hipped one
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर-आरोह
• Form: Feminine, Vocative, Singular

• पृष्टा: having been asked
• Type: Verb
• Root: पृच्छ्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular, Past passive participle (क्त)

• वद: tell / speak
• Type: Verb
• Root: वद्
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular, Parasmaipada

• मम: of me / my
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

• ईप्सितम्: desired (thing)
• ईप्सितम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ईप्सित
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular, Past passive participle (क्त)

Speaker

श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Maheśvara (Śiva)
• the addressed woman (varārohā; unnamed in this verse)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the ethical qualifications for reliable counsel: inner calm (śama), sensory restraint (dama), freedom from possessiveness/ego (nirmama), and steady practice of dharma. Such virtues make a person fit to be questioned and to answer truthfully and beneficially.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śrī Maheśvara addresses a virtuous woman with honorific epithets, acknowledging her self-mastery and righteousness, and then formally asks her to state what he wishes to know—setting the tone for an instructive exchange.