Shloka 5

Devanagari script

स तेषां प्रेत्यभावे च प्रेत्यजातौ विनिश्षये । आगमस्थ: स भूयिष्ठमात्मतत्त्वे न तुष्यति,“इस शरीरको त्याग देनेके पश्चात्‌ जीवकी सत्ता रहती है या नहीं, अथवा देह-त्यागके बाद उसका पुनर्जन्म होता है या नहीं", इस विषयमें उन आचार्योंका जो सुनिश्चित सिद्धान्त था, वे लोग आत्मतत्त्वके विषयमें जैसा विचार उपस्थित करते थे, उससे शास्त्रानुयायी राजा जनदेवको विशेष संतोष नहीं होता था

Transliteration

sa teṣāṃ pretyabhāve ca pretyajātau viniśṣaye | āgamasthaḥ sa bhūyiṣṭham ātmatattve na tuṣyati ||

Translation

Bhishma said: Though those teachers, resting on the authority of scripture, had reached a settled conclusion on whether the Self endures after death and whether it is born again after leaving the body, King Janadeva found little satisfaction in their accounts of the truth of the Self. His dissatisfaction reveals an ethical and philosophical urgency: doctrinal certainty is not enough unless it yields clear insight into the soul’s nature and the moral meaning of life and death.

Word by Word

सःhe (that person/king)

तेषाम्of them

प्रेत्यभावेin the state after death (post-mortem existence/non-existence)

चand

प्रेत्यजातौin rebirth after death (post-death birth)

विनिश्षयेin the settled conclusion/decision

आगमस्थःstanding on scripture/tradition; scripturally grounded

सःhe

भूयिष्ठम्greatly; exceedingly; for the most part

आत्मतत्त्वेin the truth/principle of the Self

नnot

तुष्यतिis satisfied; is content

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

King Janadeva

ācāryas (teachers)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that authoritative, scripture-based conclusions about post-death existence and rebirth may still fail to satisfy a sincere seeker unless they illuminate ātmatattva—directly clarifying the nature of the Self and its moral implications.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma reports that various teachers had offered definitive, āgama-based views on whether the jīva persists after death and whether it is reborn; yet King Janadeva remained unconvinced and unsatisfied with their accounts of the Self’s true nature.