Shloka 37

Devanagari script

योडरिणा सह संधाय सुखं स्वपिति विश्वसन्‌ | स वृक्षाग्रे प्रसुप्तो वा पतितः प्रतिबुद्धयते,'जो शत्रुके साथ संधि करके विश्वासपूर्वक सुखसे सोता है, वह उसी मनुष्यके समान है, जो वृक्षकी शाखापर गाढ़ी नींदमें सो गया हो। ऐसा पुरुष नीचे गिरने (शत्रुद्वारा संकटमें पड़ने) पर ही सजग या सचेत होता है

Transliteration

yo 'riṇā saha sandhāya sukhaṁ svapiti viśvasan | sa vṛkṣāgre prasupto vā patitaḥ pratibudhyate ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: One who makes a pact with an enemy and then sleeps in comfort, trusting him, is like a man sunk in deep sleep atop a tree—he wakes only when he falls. The teaching warns against naïve reliance on a hostile party: misplaced trust invites disaster, and awareness often comes only after harm is done.

Word by Word

यःwho (he who)

अरिणाwith an enemy

सहtogether with

संधायhaving made (a pact), having concluded

सुखम्comfortably, in ease

स्वपितिsleeps

विश्वसन्trusting, being confident

सःhe

वृक्षाग्रेon the top/branch of a tree

प्रसुप्तःfallen asleep, fast asleep

वाor

पतितःhaving fallen, fallen down

प्रतिबुद्ध्यतेwakes up, becomes alert

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

enemy (ari)

truce/compact (saṁdhi)

tree/branch (vṛkṣa-agra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Do not become complacent after making peace with an enemy; trust without vigilance is dangerous. Like sleeping on a tree-branch, one may feel secure until the sudden fall—awareness often comes only after damage.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on conduct and policy, Bhīṣma advises Yudhiṣṭhira through a vivid simile: a person who relaxes and sleeps after a pact with an enemy is compared to someone asleep atop a tree who wakes only upon falling—i.e., only when crisis strikes.