Shloka 13
Ākiṃcanya–Tyāga Upadeśa
The Instruction on Non-ownership and Renunciation
शाखाभिरनुरूपाभिरभर्भूयिष्ठं क्षत्रसंनिभम् | तस्य मूलं च संसिक्तं वरचन्दनवारिणा
śākhābhir anurūpābhir abhrabhūyiṣṭhaṃ kṣatrasaṃnibham | tasya mūlaṃ ca saṃsiktaṃ varacandanavāriṇā ||
Bhishma said: “With many well-proportioned branches, it appeared like a lofty royal parasol, cloud-like in its vastness and resembling a kṣatriya’s emblem of sovereignty. Its root, moreover, had been sprinkled and nourished with water infused with excellent sandalwood.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses royal imagery (a parasol-like canopy and sandalwood-scented water) to suggest that true sovereignty and dignity are supported by careful nurturing at the ‘root’—i.e., by disciplined foundations, purity, and right conduct rather than mere outward display.
Bhishma describes a magnificent tree whose harmonious branches spread like a grand royal canopy, while its base is ritually and fragrantly watered with sandalwood-infused water—an evocative detail that marks the setting as refined, auspicious, and symbolically connected with kingship and virtue.