Shloka 110

Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment

Parāśara’s Instruction

Devanagari script

नमो रथ्यविरथ्याय चतुष्पथरथाय च । कृष्णाजिनोत्तरीयाय व्यालयज्ञोपवीतिने,आप रथपर बैठकर तथा बिना रथके भी घूमनेवाले हैं। जल, अग्नि, वायु तथा आकाश --इन चारों मार्गोपर आपकी गति है। आप काले मृगचर्मको दुपट्टेकी भाँति ओढ़नेवाले तथा सर्पमय यज्ञोपवीत धारण करनेवाले हैं। आपको प्रणाम है

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | namo rathyāvirathyāya catuṣpatharathāya ca | kṛṣṇājinottarīyāya vyālayajñopavītine ||

Translation

Bhishma said: Salutations to you who move both on the king’s road and off the road, and who ride the chariot of the fourfold crossroads—whose course lies along the four paths of water, fire, wind, and space. Salutations to you who wear a black antelope-skin as an upper garment and who bear a sacred thread (yajñopavīta) made of serpents.

Word by Word

• नमः: salutation; homage
• नमः: Karma
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस्
• Form: Avyaya (indeclinable interjection); governs dative

• रथ्य-अविरथ्याय: to (you who are) with a chariot and without a chariot
• रथ्य-अविरथ्याय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रथ्य-अविरथ्य
• Form: Masculine, dative, singular

• चतुष्पथ-रथाय: to the chariot (moving) on the four paths/crossroads
• चतुष्पथ-रथाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुष्पथ-रथ
• Form: Masculine, dative, singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: Avyaya (conjunction)

• कृष्णाजिन-उत्तरीयाय: to (you who have) a black-antelope-skin as an upper garment
• कृष्णाजिन-उत्तरीयाय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृष्णाजिन-उत्तरीय
• Form: Masculine, dative, singular

• व्याल-यज्ञोपवीतिने: to (you who wear) a sacred thread of serpents
• व्याल-यज्ञोपवीतिने: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्याल-यज्ञोपवीतिन्
• Form: Masculine, dative, singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma (speaker)
• the praised deity (implied Rudra/Śiva-like form)
• chariot (ratha)
• crossroads (catuṣpatha)
• black antelope skin (kṛṣṇājina)
• serpent sacred thread (vyāla-yajñopavīta)
• water (āpaḥ)
• fire (agni)
• wind (vāyu)
• space/ether (ākāśa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches reverence for the supreme reality that transcends conventional boundaries—moving both ‘on the road’ and ‘off the road’—and pervades all elements. The ascetic symbols (antelope-skin, serpent sacred thread) emphasize renunciation and mastery over fear and death, suggesting that true authority rests in spiritual power aligned with cosmic order (dharma).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva, Bhishma delivers teachings and praises; here he utters a stuti (hymn) saluting a deity depicted with Rudra/Śiva-like attributes. The imagery presents the deity as cosmic in movement (through water, fire, wind, and space) and ascetic in appearance, underscoring the deity’s all-pervading nature and worthiness of worship.