Shloka 18

बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account

On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics

Devanagari script

ताभ्यो विश्वानि भूतानि देवा: पितृगणास्तथा । गन्धर्वाप्सरसश्ैव रक्षांसि विविधानि च

Transliteration

tābhyo viśvāni bhūtāni devāḥ pitṛgaṇās tathā | gandharvāpsarasaś caiva rakṣāṃsi vividhāni ca ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “From those maidens were born all beings in the universe—likewise the gods and the hosts of the Pitṛs (ancestors), as well as the Gandharvas and Apsarases, and the many kinds of Rākṣasas.”

Word by Word

• ताभ्यः: from those (women/daughters)
• ताभ्यः: अपादान
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्री, पञ्चमी, बहुवचन

• विश्वानि: all
• विश्वानि: कर्ता
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• भूतानि: beings/creatures
• भूतानि: कर्ता
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• देवाः: gods
• देवाः: कर्ता
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• पितृगणाः: groups of Pitṛs (manes)
• पितृगणाः: कर्ता
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृगण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• तथा: and also/likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: true

• गन्धर्व: Gandharvas
• गन्धर्व: कर्ता
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• अप्सरसः: Apsarases
• अप्सरसः: कर्ता
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्सरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्री, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: true

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: true

• रक्षांसि: Rakṣasas/demons
• रक्षांसि: कर्ता
• Type: Noun
• Root: रक्षस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• विविधानि: various
• विविधानि: कर्ता
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विविध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: true

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• bhūtāni (all beings)
• devāḥ (gods)
• pitṛgaṇāḥ (ancestral hosts)
• gandharvāḥ (Gandharvas)
• apsarasaḥ (Apsarases)
• rakṣāṃsi (Rākṣasas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents a unified origin for diverse classes of beings, implying a cosmos governed by intelligible order. Ethically, it supports the Shānti Parva’s broader vision that dharma is grounded in understanding the interconnected structure of life and the world.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is describing a genealogy of creation: from certain ‘maidens’ (previously introduced in the chapter) arise all beings—gods, ancestors, celestial performers, and various Rākṣasas—continuing a larger account of how the world’s categories of life came to be.