Shloka 38

अनुशासनपर्व अध्याय ९३ — तपस्, सदोपवास, विघसाशन, अतिथिप्रियता

Austerity, regulated fasting, residual-eating, and hospitality

Devanagari script

अनृत्विगनुपाध्याय: स चेदग्रासनं व्रजेत्‌

Transliteration

anṛtviganupādhyāyaḥ sa ced agrāsanaṃ vrajet

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “If a man who has neither officiating priests (ṛtviks) nor a preceptor (upādhyāya) should nonetheless go and take the foremost seat (the seat of honour), …”

Word by Word

• अनृत्विक्: one who is not a priest (officiating priest)
• अनृत्विक्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋत्विक्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अनुपाध्यायः: one who is not a teacher/preceptor
• अनुपाध्यायः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपाध्याय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चेत्: if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चेत्

• अग्रासनम्: the foremost seat (place of honor)
• अग्रासनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्रासन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• व्रजेत्: should go/should take (approach)
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्रज्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Honor and precedence should align with dharmic qualifications such as proper instruction under a preceptor and participation in sanctioned ritual order; claiming the highest seat without such grounding is presented as improper conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is laying down norms of social and religious propriety, using the example of someone lacking priests and a teacher who nevertheless seeks the seat of honour, to highlight a violation of established dharmic decorum.