Shloka 68

Devanagari script

विद्यासहायवन्तं च आदित्यस्थं समाहितम्‌ । कपिल प्राहुराचार्या: सांख्यनिश्चितनिश्चया:,'सांख्यशास्त्रके सिद्धान्तका निश्चय करनेवाले आचार्यगण मुझे ही विद्याकी सहायतासे युक्त, सूर्यमण्डलमें स्थित एवं समाहितचित्त कपिल कहते हैं

Transliteration

vidyāsahāyavantaṃ ca ādityasthaṃ samāhitam | kapilaṃ prāhur ācāryāḥ sāṅkhya-niścita-niścayāḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “The teachers who are firmly settled in the settled conclusions of Sāṅkhya declare me to be Kapila—one supported by knowledge, abiding in the solar sphere, and possessed of a collected, steady mind.”

Word by Word

विद्या-सहाय-वन्तम्endowed with the help of knowledge

चand

आदित्य-स्थम्situated in the Sun (solar orb)

समाहितम्collected/absorbed (in mind), composed

कपिलम्Kapila

प्राहुःthey said / they call

आचार्याःteachers, preceptors

सांख्य-निश्चित-निश्चयाःwhose conviction is firmly settled in Sāṅkhya

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Kapila

Āditya (the Sun)

Sāṅkhya ācāryas (teachers of Sāṅkhya)

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 elevates disciplined knowledge (vidyā) and mental collectedness (samāhita) as marks of true philosophical authority, presenting Kapila as an archetype recognized by established Sāṅkhya teachers—one whose insight is steady and whose station is symbolically linked with the Sun (clarity, illumination).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s discourse on dharma and higher knowledge in the Śānti Parva, he cites the recognition given by Sāṅkhya authorities: they identify him with Kapila, describing Kapila’s qualities—supported by knowledge, abiding in the solar sphere, and possessing concentrated mind—thereby grounding the teaching in revered tradition.