Shloka 43

Devanagari script

उत्तरापथजन्मान: कीर्तयिष्यामि तानपि | यौनकाम्बोजगान्धारा: किराता बर्बरै: सह

Transliteration

uttarāpathajanmānaḥ kīrtayiṣyāmi tān api | yaunāḥ kāmbojagāndhārāḥ kirātā barbaraiḥ saha ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “I shall also enumerate those peoples who are born in the Northern route (Uttarāpatha): the Yaunas, the Kāmbojas, the Gāndhāras, and the Kirātas, together with the Barbaras.”

Word by Word

उत्तरापथजन्मानःthose born in the northern route/region

कीर्तयिष्यामिI shall mention/proclaim

तान्them

अपिalso/even

यौनाthe Yaunas (Ionians/Greeks)

काम्बोजगान्धाराःthe Kambojas and Gandharas

किराताःthe Kiratas

बर्बरैःwith the Barbarians (Barbaras)

सहtogether with

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Uttarāpatha

Yauna

Kāmboja

Gāndhāra

Kirāta

Barbara

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?

The verse supports Bhīṣma’s broader instruction by classifying peoples and regions, implying that a ruler’s dharma includes knowing the wider world—its communities, frontiers, and cultural diversity—so governance and policy can be applied with discernment rather than ignorance.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, Bhīṣma is listing groups associated with the northern tract (Uttarāpatha). He continues an enumeration of peoples, naming Yaunas, Kāmbojas, Gāndhāras, Kirātas, and Barbaras as part of that northern sphere.