Shloka 8

Devanagari script

उभे चैते मते ज्ञाते नूपते शिष्टसम्मते । अनुषछिते यथाशास्त्र नयेतां परमां गतिम्‌,नरेश्वर! इन दोनों मतोंका श्रेष्ठ पुरुषोंने आदर किया है। इन दोनों ही मतोंको जानकर शास्त्रके अनुसार उनका आचरण किया जाय तो वे परमगतिकी प्राप्ति करा सकते हैं

Transliteration

ubhe caite mate jñāte nṛpate śiṣṭa-sammate | anuṣṭhite yathāśāstraṃ nayetāṃ paramāṃ gatim, nareśvara ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “O king, these two doctrines are both well known and are honored by the refined and learned. When one understands them and practices them in accordance with the scriptures, they can lead a person to the highest goal—final liberation.”

Word by Word

उभेboth (two)

चand

एतेthese (two)

मतेviews/doctrines

ज्ञातेknown/understood

नृपतेO king

शिष्टसम्मतेapproved by the learned/good

अनुष्ठितेwhen practiced/when carried out

यथाaccording to/as

शास्त्रम्scripture/śāstra

नयेताम्may (they) lead

परमाम्supreme

गतिम्goal/state/destination

नरेश्वरO lord of men (king)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

nṛpati/nareśvara (the king, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira as addressee)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That multiple śāstra-respected paths or doctrines can be valid; if one truly understands them and practices them in accordance with scriptural discipline, they can lead to the highest end—paramā gati (mokṣa).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) on dharma after the war. Here he affirms that two recognized viewpoints—esteemed by the cultured—are both efficacious when properly understood and lived according to śāstra.