Shloka 5

Devanagari script

न जानपदिकं दुःखमेक: शोचितुमहति । अशोचन्‌ प्रतिकुर्वीत यदि पश्येदुपक्रमम्‌,जो दुःख सारे देशपर है, उसके लिये किसी एक व्यक्तिको शोक नहीं करना चाहिये। यदि उसे टालनेका कोई उपाय दिखायी दे तो शोक न करके उस दुःखके निवारणका प्रयत्न करना चाहिये

Transliteration

na jānapadikaṁ duḥkham ekaḥ śocitum arhati | aśocan pratikurvīta yadi paśyed upakramam ||

Translation

When suffering has fallen upon an entire realm, no one should grieve as though it were his alone. If one can see a practical means to counter it, one should set aside lamentation and strive to remove that distress.

Word by Word

नnot

जानपदिकम्pertaining to the whole country/people (public)

दुःखम्sorrow, suffering

एकःone person (alone)

शोचितुम्to grieve

अर्हतिis fit/ought

अशोचन्not grieving (while not grieving)

प्रतिकुर्वीतshould counteract/remedy

यदिif

पश्येत्should see/find

उपक्रमम्means/measure/expedient (a course of action)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

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?

Grief is unhelpful when suffering is collective; if a remedy is available, one should replace lamentation with purposeful action to alleviate the harm.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the listener on dharma and governance; here he counsels a ruler-like mindset: recognize public calamity as a shared burden and respond with calm, remedial effort rather than personal despair.