Shloka 23

Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)

Devanagari script

त्वया हि कुर्वता शास्त्र प्रमाणमिह पार्थिव

Transliteration

tvayā hi kurvatā śāstra-pramāṇam iha pārthiva, pramāṇam upanītā vai sthitāśva na vicālitāḥ |

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “O king, by your conduct here—taking the śāstras as the true standard—you have upheld and strengthened what is authoritative. You have honored the foundations of right order, and you have not caused those who are steadfast in dharma to waver from their path.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'tvayā', 'definition': 'by you (instrumental singular of ‘you’)'}, {'term': 'hi', 'definition': 'indeed, for'}, {'term': 'kurvatā', 'definition': 'by (you) acting/doing

• by your conduct (instrumental singular present participle)'}, {'term': 'śāstra-pramāṇam', 'definition': 'the śāstra as the standard/authority

• scriptural norm as valid proof'}, {'term': 'iha', 'definition': 'here, in this matter/context'}, {'term': 'pārthiva', 'definition': 'O king, ruler of the earth'}, {'term': 'pramāṇam', 'definition': 'authoritative measure, valid proof, standard'}, {'term': 'upanītāḥ', 'definition': 'brought forward/established/led to (a standard)

• made authoritative (past passive participle, plural)'}, {'term': 'vai', 'definition': 'indeed, certainly (emphatic particle)'}, {'term': 'sthitāḥ', 'definition': 'standing firm, established, steadfast'}, {'term': 'aśva', 'definition': 'horse

• in context likely part of a compound/reading indicating ‘steadfast’ (textual uncertainty in the given line)'}, {'term': 'na', 'definition': 'not'}, {'term': 'vicālitāḥ', 'definition': 'shaken, made to deviate, unsettled (past passive participle, plural)'}]

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Pārthiva (the king addressed; contextually Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler should ground decisions and personal conduct in śāstra (normative tradition) so that dharma remains the recognized standard and the righteous are not destabilized by the king’s example.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, instructing the king in Anuśāsana Parva, praises the king’s adherence to śāstric authority and notes that such conduct reinforces moral order and keeps dharma-minded people steady rather than confused or led astray.