Shloka 16

Devanagari script

तेषां लोका हा[पर्यन्ता: सदने ब्रह्मण: स्मृता: । उपस्थिता हृप्सरसो गन्धर्वैश्व जनाधिप

Transliteration

teṣāṃ lokā hā[paryantāḥ sadane brahmaṇaḥ smṛtāḥ | upasthitā hṛpsaraso gandharvaiś ca janādhipa

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “Their worlds are remembered as extending up to the very abode of Brahmā. There, O king of men, the Apsarases stood in attendance, and so too the Gandharvas.”

Word by Word

तेषाम्of them

लोकाःworlds/realms

अपर्यन्ताःendless/boundless

सदनेin the abode

ब्रह्मणःof Brahmā / of Brahman

स्मृताःare said/are remembered (as)

उपस्थिताःhaving arrived / present

अप्सरसःApsarases (celestial nymphs)

गन्धर्वैःwith/by the Gandharvas

चand

जनाधिपO lord of people (O king)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Brahmā

Apsarases

Gandharvas

janādhipa (the king addressed, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma emphasizes the exalted destination attained through great merit: the highest heavenly reach is described as extending up to Brahmā’s abode, attended by celestial beings. The ethical implication is that righteous conduct and accumulated merit lead to superior posthumous states.

What is happening in the narrative?

In his instruction to the king, Bhīṣma describes the splendor and extent of the realms attained by certain virtuous persons, portraying a scene in Brahmā’s abode where Apsarases and Gandharvas are present in attendance.