Shloka 4

Devanagari script

जातिस्मरो महानुष्ट: प्राजापत्ये युगे5भवत्‌ । तप: सुमहादातिष्ठदरण्ये संशितव्रत:,प्राजापत्ययुग (सत्ययुग) में एक महान्‌ ऊँट था। उसको पूर्वजन्मकी बातोंका स्मरण था। उसने कठोर व्रतके पालनका नियम लेकर वनमें बड़ी भारी तपस्या आरम्भ की

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | jātismaro mahānuṣṭraḥ prājāpatye yuge 'bhavat | tapaḥ sumahad ātiṣṭhad araṇye saṃśitavrataḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma said: In the age of Prajāpati (the primordial Satya Yuga) there lived a great camel, endowed with memory of its former births. Having undertaken a strict vow, it began an exceedingly severe austerity in the forest—setting its life upon disciplined restraint.

Word by Word

जातिस्मरःone who remembers (his) former birth

महान्great

उष्ट्रःcamel

प्राजापत्येin the Prajāpatya (age/period)

युगेin the age (yuga)

अभवत्was/became

तपःausterity, penance

सुमहत्very great

आतिष्ठत्undertook, began (to practice)

अरण्येin the forest

संशितव्रतःone of sharpened/strict vows

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Prajapatya Yuga (Satya Yuga)

a great camel (anuṣṭra)

forest (araṇya)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse introduces an ethical exemplum: even a non-human being, remembering past lives, can deliberately adopt strict vows and undertake tapas. It foregrounds the Mahabharata’s theme that dharma is supported by self-restraint and disciplined effort, not merely by birth or status.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma begins a story set in the primordial age: a great camel with past-life memory takes up a firm vow and starts intense austerities in the forest, preparing the ground for a moral lesson that follows.