Shloka 48

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

Devanagari script

नारदो5प्यथ कृष्णस्य परं मेने नराधिप । शाश्वतत्वं महाबाहो यथावद्‌ भरतर्षभ

Transliteration

nārado 'py atha kṛṣṇasya paraṃ mene narādhipa | śāśvatatvaṃ mahābāho yathāvad bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “O king, even Nārada regarded Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme. O mighty-armed one, O bull among the Bharatas, he understood Kṛṣṇa’s eternal nature in the proper and complete way.”

Word by Word

• नारदः: Narada
• नारदः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• अथ: then/now
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• कृष्णस्य: of Krishna
• कृष्णस्य: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• परम्: supremacy/superiority (as the highest)
• परम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• मेने: considered/thought
• Type: Verb
• Root: मन् (मन्यते)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada (usage with middle-sense verb)

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

• शाश्वतत्वम्: eternity/everlastingness
• शाश्वतत्वम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाश्वतत्व
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• महाबाहो: O mighty-armed one
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाबाहु
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• यथावत्: properly/as it should be
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथावत्

• भरतर्षभ: O bull of the Bharatas (best of Bharata lineage)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरतर्षभ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Nārada
• Kṛṣṇa
• Yudhiṣṭhira (narādhipa)
• Bharata lineage (bharatarṣabha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts that the highest spiritual authorities—here, the sage Nārada—recognize Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme and eternal reality. Ethically, it frames devotion and right conduct as grounded in correct understanding (yathāvat) of the divine’s true nature.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and higher truths. Here he cites Nārada’s judgment as testimony that Kṛṣṇa is supreme and eternal, strengthening Yudhiṣṭhira’s confidence in Kṛṣṇa’s status and guidance.