Shloka 140

Devanagari script

सर्वे वेदविदो मुख्या नैमिषारण्यवासिन: । शौनकस्य महासत्र प्राप्ता: सर्वे द्विजोत्तमा:,नैमिषारण्यमें निवास करनेवाले प्रायः सभी ऋषि प्रमुख वेदवेत्ता हैं और सभी श्रेष्ठ द्विज शौनकके इस महायज्ञमें एकत्र हुए हैं

Transliteration

sarve vedavido mukhyā naimiṣāraṇyavāsinaḥ | śaunakasyā mahāsatraṃ prāptāḥ sarve dvijottamāḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “All the foremost knowers of the Vedas—those dwelling in Naimiṣāraṇya—have assembled. All the best among the twice-born have come to Śaunaka’s great sacrificial session.”

Word by Word

सर्वेall

वेदविदःknowers of the Veda

मुख्याःchief, foremost

नैमिषारण्यवासिनःdwellers in Naimiṣāraṇya

शौनकस्यof Śaunaka

महासत्रम्the great sacrificial session

प्राप्ताःhaving arrived

सर्वेall

द्विजोत्तमाःbest of the twice-born (Brahmins)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Naimiṣāraṇya

Śaunaka

mahāsatra (great sacrificial session)

Veda (as sacred corpus)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the authority of dharma grounded in Vedic learning and the collective discernment of accomplished sages: major ethical and religious matters are best clarified in the presence of qualified Veda-knowers gathered in a sanctioned ritual setting.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma describes a revered scene: the foremost Vedic sages residing in the sacred forest of Naimiṣāraṇya have convened for Śaunaka’s great sacrificial session (mahāsatra), indicating a formal, authoritative assembly.