Shloka 36

गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow

Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode

Devanagari script

यथोपदेशं परिकीर्तितासु नर: प्रजायेत विचार्य बुद्धिमान । निहीनयोनिर्हि सुतो&5वसादयेत्‌ तितीर्षमाणं हि यथोपलो जले

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | yathopadeśaṃ parikīrtitāsu naraḥ prajāyeta vicārya buddhimān | nihīna-yonir hi suto ’vasādayet titīrṣamāṇaṃ hi yathopalo jale, rājan |

Translation

Bhishma said: “O King, a wise man should beget offspring only after careful reflection, in accordance with the instruction of the sages, and with women of the stated classes. For a son born of an inferior womb drags his father down—just as a stone in water sinks one who is trying to cross.”

Word by Word

• {'yathā-upadeśam': 'according to instruction

• as taught', 'parikīrtitāsu': 'in those that have been described/enumerated (here: the specified women/classes)', 'naraḥ': 'a man', 'prajāyeta': 'should beget offspring

• should procreate', 'vicārya': 'having considered

• after deliberation', 'buddhimān': 'wise

• discerning', 'nihīna-yoniḥ': 'of inferior birth/womb

• low origin', 'sutaḥ': 'son', 'avasādayet': 'would cause to sink

• would ruin', 'titīrṣamāṇam': 'one wishing to cross over (especially the ocean of worldly existence)', 'upalaḥ': 'stone

• rock', 'jale': 'in water', 'rājan': 'O king'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• King (Yudhishthira, implied addressee)
• son (suta)
• stone (upala)
• water (jala)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that one should be deliberate and dharmic about begetting children, because an unworthy or improperly born son can become a heavy moral and practical burden, obstructing the father’s spiritual progress—like a stone that makes a swimmer sink.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing the king on dharma. Here he uses a vivid simile—stone in water—to warn about the consequences of producing offspring without proper consideration and adherence to the prescribed norms taught by sages.