Shloka 27

Mahāvasu’s Fall by Speech-Error and Release through Devotion (अज-विवादः वसोः शापः विमोचनं च)

Devanagari script

न त्वस्य रमते बुद्धिराश्रमेषु नराधिप । त्रिषु गार्हस्थ्यमूलेषु मोक्षधर्मानुदर्शिन:

Transliteration

na tv asya ramate buddhir āśrameṣu narādhipa | triṣu gārhasthya-mūleṣu mokṣa-dharmānudarśinaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “But his mind found no delight in the āśramas, O king—those three stages of life that rest upon the householder’s state. For he was one who kept his gaze fixed on the dharma of liberation (mokṣa).”

Word by Word

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• tu: but
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu

• asya: of him / his
• asya: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (pronoun stem a-/asya)
• Form: masculine/neuter, genitive, singular

• ramate: delights / takes pleasure
• Type: Verb
• Root: ram
• Form: present, 3rd, singular, ātmanepada

• buddhiḥ: mind / intellect
• buddhiḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: buddhi
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• āśrameṣu: in the āśramas (stages of life)
• āśrameṣu: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśrama
• Form: masculine, locative, plural

• nara-adhipa: O king (lord of men)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara + adhipa
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

• triṣu: in the three
• triṣu: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri
• Form: masculine/neuter, locative, plural

• gārhasthya-mūleṣu: in those rooted in householdership
• gārhasthya-mūleṣu: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gārhasthya + mūla
• Form: masculine/neuter, locative, plural

• mokṣa-dharmānudarśinaḥ: those who contemplate/observe the dharmas of liberation
• mokṣa-dharmānudarśinaḥ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mokṣa-dharma + anudarśin
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• narādhipa (the king addressed, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A mind oriented toward mokṣa (liberation) does not naturally take pleasure in the conventional āśrama pursuits grounded in household life; liberation-focused dharma reshapes what one finds fulfilling.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, instructing the king, characterizes a certain person’s disposition: because he was devoted to mokṣa-dharma, he felt no satisfaction in the three life-stages dependent on the householder foundation.