Shloka 6

Devanagari script

अमेध्ये वै गतप्राणे शून्ये ज्ञातिभिरुज्िते । देहे त्रितयमेवैतत्‌ पुरुषस्योपयुज्यते,जब यह शरीर प्राणरहित होकर शून्य एवं अपवित्र हो जाता है तथा समस्त बन्धु- बान्धव उसे त्याग देते हैं, तब ये ही ज्ञान आदि तीनों ज्योतियाँ (परलोकगत) पुरुषके उपयोगमें आती हैं

Transliteration

amedhye vai gataprāṇe śūnye jñātibhir ujjhite | dehe tritayam evaitat puruṣasyopayujyate ||

Translation

Bhima said: When the body becomes lifeless, hollow, and impure, and even one’s own kinsmen abandon it, then only this triad truly serves a person—those inner lights such as knowledge and the like—bearing fruit for him beyond this world.

Word by Word

अमेध्येin the impure (state/body)

वैindeed

गतप्राणेin (one) whose life-breath has departed

शून्येin the empty (body)

ज्ञातिभिःby kinsmen/relatives

उज्झितेwhen abandoned

देहेin the body

त्रितयम्the triad; the set of three

एवonly/just

एतत्this

पुरुषस्यof a man/person

उपयुज्यतेis of use; is employed/serves

Speaker

भीम उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhima

puruṣa (a person)

jñāti (kinsmen/relatives)

deha (body)

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?

At death, the body becomes impure and is abandoned even by relatives; therefore, only inner attainments—especially knowledge and allied virtues—truly benefit a person, particularly with regard to the next world.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhima is speaking in the Sabha Parva, reflecting on the fate of the body after life departs and emphasizing that worldly attachments and social supports do not endure, whereas inner qualities alone accompany a person’s moral and posthumous outcome.