Shloka 22

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

Devanagari script

गतदैवतसंस्थाना वृद्धबालविनाकृता । गोजाविमहिषीहीना परस्परपराहता,देवालय तथा मठ-मन्दिर आदि संस्थाएँ उठ गयी थीं, बालक और बूढ़े मर गये थे, गाय, भेड़, बकरी और भैंसें प्रायः समाप्त हो गयी थीं, क्षुधातुर प्राणी एक-दूसरेपर आघात करते थे

Transliteration

gatadaivatasaṁsthānā vṛddhabālavinākṛtā | gojāvimahiṣīhīnā parasparaparāhatā ||

Translation

Bhishma said: The land had lost its sacred institutions and places of worship; the old and the young had perished. Cows, sheep, goats, and buffaloes were largely gone. Driven by hunger, living beings struck one another—an image of society collapsing when dharma and sustenance are destroyed.

Word by Word

गतgone, departed

दैवत-संस्थानाःreligious establishments/temples (lit. deity-institutions)

वृद्ध-बाल-विनाकृताःdeprived of old people and children

गो-अज-अवि-महिषी-हीनाःwithout cows, goats, sheep, and buffalo-cows

परस्पर-पराहताःstriking one another / mutually injured

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

daivata-saṁsthāna (temples/sacred institutions)

vṛddha (elders)

bāla (children)

go (cows)

jāvi (sheep/goats)

mahiṣī (buffaloes)

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?

When dharma-supporting institutions and basic sustenance collapse, society descends into fear and mutual violence; the verse warns that protecting religious-social order and ensuring food security are ethical duties of governance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma depicts a devastated realm: worship-centers and institutions have vanished, vulnerable age-groups have died, livestock is depleted, and hunger drives people to attack each other—illustrating the extreme conditions of disorder and scarcity.