Shloka 18

Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)

Devanagari script

उपशुष्कजलस्थाया विनिवृत्तसभाप्रपा । निवृत्तयज्ञस्वाध्याया निर्वषट्कारमज्ला,छोटे-छोटे जलाशय सर्वथा सूख गये। जलाभावके कारण पौंसले बंद हो गये। भूतलपर यज्ञ और स्वाध्यायका लोप हो गया। वषट्कार और मांगलिक उत्सवोंका कहीं नाम भी नहीं रह गया। खेती और गोरक्षा चौपट हो गयी, बाजार-हाट बंद हो गये। यूप और यज्ञोंका आयोजन समाप्त हो गया तथा बड़े-बड़े उत्सव नष्ट हो गये

Transliteration

upaśuṣka-jala-sthāyā vinivṛtta-sabhā-prapā | nivṛtta-yajña-svādhyāyā nirvaṣaṭkāram aṅgalā ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “The land’s waters had dried up; public halls and roadside drinking-stations had fallen into disuse. Sacrifices and Vedic study had ceased, and the cry of ‘vaṣaṭ’ in ritual offerings was no longer heard; auspicious rites and celebrations had vanished. With water gone, agriculture and the protection of cattle collapsed, markets and fairs shut down, sacrificial posts stood unused, and great festivals were destroyed.”

Word by Word

उपशुष्कdried up

जलस्थायाin the water-reservoir/pond (lit. water-place)

विनिवृत्तceased, stopped

सभाप्रपाpublic hall and water-shed/drinking-fountain (charity water-station)

निवृत्तstopped, discontinued

यज्ञस्वाध्यायाof sacrifice and Vedic study

निर्वषट्कारम्devoid of vaṣaṭ-calls (ritual exclamations)

अज्लाunclear reading; possibly a noun describing the condition/state

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

sabhā (assembly halls)

prapā (public drinking stations)

yajña (sacrifices)

svādhyāya (Vedic study)

vaṣaṭkāra (ritual exclamation)

yūpa (sacrificial post)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links ecological and civic breakdown (drought, abandoned public utilities) with moral and dharmic decline: when society neglects yajña (public-spirited sacred duty) and svādhyāya (discipline of learning), auspicious culture and communal welfare collapse, symbolized by the silence of the vaṣaṭ-cry and the end of festivals.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma is describing a time of severe deterioration: water sources dry up, public halls and water-stations are deserted, sacrifices and Vedic recitation stop, and with that the broader economy and social life—agriculture, cattle-care, markets, and major celebrations—falls into ruin.