Shloka 58

पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation

Devanagari script

चिरायते च संतापाच्चिरं स्वपिति वारित: । आवयोश्िरसंतापाददवेक्ष्य चिरकारिक:

Transliteration

cirāyate ca santāpāc ciraṁ svapiti vāritaḥ | āvayoḥ cirasantāpād adavekṣya cirakārikaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “Even when distress burns, he delays; and though restrained, he sleeps on for a long time. Seeing the long-standing anguish of us two—his parents—he will surely act in the manner of ‘Cirakārī’, taking his time before doing what is to be done.”

Word by Word

• चिरायते: delays / takes long
• चिरायते: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: चिराय (धातु, नामधातु: चिर + आय)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथम, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

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

• संतापात्: from distress / from anguish
• संतापात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संताप
• Form: पुं, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

• चिरम्: for a long time
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चिर

• स्वपिति: sleeps
• स्वपिति: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्वप्
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथम, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• वारितः: though forbidden / even when restrained
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वारित (√वार्/√वृ? causative sense: to restrain/forbid; here PPP)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन, क्त (भूतकर्मणि/कर्मणि प्रयोगः)

• आवयोः: of us two
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अहम् (द्विवचन-षष्ठी/सप्तमी रूप: आवयोः)
• Form: षष्ठी, द्विवचन, उत्तम

• चिरसंतापात्: from long-lasting distress
• चिरसंतापात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: चिरसंताप
• Form: पुं, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

• अवेक्ष्य: having seen / observing
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + ईक्ष्
• Form: ल्यप् (क्त्वान्त/अव्ययभाव), कर्तरि

• चिरकारिकः: Chirakārin (the son named so) / one who acts late
• चिरकारिकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चिरकारिन्
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Cirakārī (as epithet/name)
• parents (mother and father)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical tension between haste and delay: a person known for postponing action may, upon witnessing sustained suffering, still choose to act only after careful observation—suggesting that deliberation (even if slow) is tied to responsibility and the weight of consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma describes someone called/likened to ‘Cirakārī’—a habitual delayer who even sleeps long despite being stopped. Bhishma says that, seeing the prolonged distress of his parents, he will act in accordance with that ‘Cirakārī’ nature—i.e., he will take time before acting.