Shloka 17

अध्याय २०८ — इन्द्रियनिग्रहः, सत्याहिंसात्मकवाक्, कर्मफलविवेकः

Restraint of the Senses, Non-harming Truthful Speech, and Discernment of Karmic Consequence

Devanagari script

नासत्यश्वैव दख्रश्न॒ स्मृतौ द्वावश्विनावपि । मार्तण्डस्यात्मजावेतावष्टमस्य महात्मन:

Transliteration

nāsatyāś caiva dadhraśnaḥ smṛtau dvāv aśvināv api | mārtaṇḍasyātmajāv etāv aṣṭamasya mahātmanaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “In the traditional accounts, Nāsatya and Dadhraśna are remembered as the two Aśvin twins. These two are the sons of Mārtaṇḍa, the eighth, great-souled Āditya.”

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• असत्यः: Nāsatya (name of an Aśvin)
• असत्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: असत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• दध्रश्नः: Dadhraśna (name of an Aśvin)
• दध्रश्नः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दध्रश्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• स्मृतौ: in the tradition(s)/in the remembered accounts (twofold)
• स्मृतौ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्मृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Dual

• द्वौ: two
• द्वौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• अश्विनौ: the two Aśvins
• अश्विनौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्विन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

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

• मार्तण्डस्य: of Mārtāṇḍa (the Sun)
• मार्तण्डस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: मार्तण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• आत्मजौ: two sons
• आत्मजौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• एतौ: these two
• एतौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• अष्टमस्य: of the eighth
• अष्टमस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• महात्मनः: of the great-souled one
• महात्मनः: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Nāsatya
• Dadhraśna
• Aśvinau (the Aśvins)
• Mārtaṇḍa (Sun/Āditya)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse grounds knowledge in smṛti (received tradition) and presents a concise genealogical identification of the Aśvins, emphasizing the Mahābhārata’s method of linking ethical-discursive teaching with authoritative cosmological and lineage frameworks.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, while instructing in Śānti Parva, cites traditional remembrance to identify the Aśvin twins by name and to state their parentage from Mārtaṇḍa, the eighth Āditya.