Shloka 83

तीर्थवंशोपदेशः

Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters

Devanagari script

एते पूर्व विनिर्दिष्टा: प्रोक्ता निरयगामिन: । भागिन: स्वर्गलोकस्य वक्ष्यामि भरतर्षभ

Transliteration

ete pūrva-vinirdiṣṭāḥ proktā niraya-gāminaḥ | bhāginaḥ svarga-lokasya vakṣyāmi bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “These have already been specified earlier as those who go to hell. Now, O bull among the Bharatas, I shall describe those who attain a share in the heavenly world—listen.”

Word by Word

• {'ete': 'these (people/types)', 'pūrva': 'earlier, previously', 'vinirdiṣṭāḥ': 'clearly indicated, specifically pointed out', 'proktāḥ': 'declared, stated', 'niraya-gāminaḥ': 'those who go to hell

• hell-bound', 'bhāginaḥ': 'sharers, recipients of a portion

• those entitled to a share', 'svarga-lokasya': 'of the world of heaven

• of Svarga', 'vakṣyāmi': 'I shall speak

• I will explain', 'bharatarṣabha': 'O best/bull of the Bharatas (address to Yudhiṣṭhira)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Bharatarshabha (Yudhishthira)
• Niraya (hell)
• Svargaloka (heaven)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Moral actions have consequences: some behaviors lead to hellish outcomes, while virtuous conduct makes one a rightful ‘sharer’ in heaven. Bhīṣma frames the teaching as a structured ethical taxonomy—first the hell-bound, then the heaven-bound.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira in the Anuśāsana Parva, he transitions from a previously given list of sinful, hell-leading types to a forthcoming description of those whose conduct leads to Svarga.