Shloka 17

Adhyāya 118: Saciva-parīkṣā

Testing and Appointment of Ministers/Servants

Devanagari script

शरभो5प्यतिसंदृष्टो नित्य॑ प्राणिवधे रत:

Transliteration

śarabho 'py atisaṃdṛṣṭo nityaṃ prāṇivadhē rataḥ

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “Even the śarabha is observed to be exceedingly fierce, ever delighting in the killing of living beings.” In the ethical frame of the Śānti teachings, this line points to the reality that some natures incline toward violence; therefore dharma must be consciously cultivated rather than assumed to arise automatically from mere birth or strength.

Word by Word

• शरभः: the śarabha (a fierce animal)
• शरभः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरभ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अपि: even/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• अतिसंदृष्टः: seen as exceedingly (cruel/violent)
• अतिसंदृष्टः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतिसंदृष्ट
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नित्यम्: always
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य

• प्राणिवधे: in the killing of living beings
• प्राणिवधे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राणिवध
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• रतः: delighting/engaged
• रतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Śarabha

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That a tendency toward violence can be innate or habitual in some beings; hence dharma requires deliberate restraint and ethical cultivation rather than reliance on raw power or natural impulse.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, instructing in the Śānti Parva, cites the example of the śarabha as a creature repeatedly observed to be constantly engaged in killing, using it to illustrate a point about violent disposition and the need for moral discipline.