Shloka 44

Brahmacarya-Upāya: Jñāna, Śauca, and the Mind’s Role in Desire (शान्ति पर्व, अध्याय २०७)

Devanagari script

श्वपाकबलगृथ्राणां सधर्माणो नराधिप

Transliteration

śvapākabala-gṛdhrāṇāṃ sadharmāṇo narādhipa

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “O king of men, even the packs of outcast dog-eaters and the vultures are bound by a kind of shared code—acting in accordance with their own nature and rule.”

Word by Word

• श्वपाकबलगृथ्राणाम्: of dog-cookers (outcastes), of the weak, and of vultures
• श्वपाकबलगृथ्राणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वपाक + बल + गृध्र
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• सधर्माणः: having the same dharma; of like conduct
• सधर्माणः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सधर्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नराधिप: O king (lord of men)
• नराधिप: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नराधिप
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• narādhipa (the king addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma highlights that ‘dharma’ can mean a consistent rule of conduct or characteristic order: even lowly or scavenging beings operate with a shared, recognizable code. By implication, humans—especially kings—should adhere to an even higher, deliberate standard of righteous conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction to the king, Bhīṣma continues a didactic argument about dharma and proper behavior, using striking examples from socially despised groups and scavenger birds to emphasize that orderly conduct exists at every level of life.