Shanti Parva Adhyaya 361 Shloka 16 - Mahabharata | English | Vedapath

Vyasa

Shloka 16

Devanagari script

एतच्छुत्वा महाप्राज्ञ तत्र गन्तुं त्वमहसि । दातुमरहसि वा तस्य दर्शन दर्शनश्रव:,महाप्राज्ञ नागराज! मेरी यह बात सुनकर अब आपको वहाँ जाना चाहिये और ब्राह्मणदेवताको दर्शन देना चाहिये

Transliteration

etac chrutvā mahāprājña tatra gantuṁ tvam arhasi | dātum arhasi vā tasya darśanaṁ darśanaśravaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “O greatly wise one, having heard this, you ought to go there. You should also grant him the blessing of your presence—your very sight, famed as it is—so that the worthy seeker may be fulfilled.”

Word by Word

एतत्this (statement/thing)

श्रुत्वाhaving heard

महाप्राज्ञO very wise one

तत्रthere

गन्तुम्to go

त्वम्you

अर्हसिare fit/ought

दातुम्to give

अर्हसिare fit/ought

वाor

तस्यof him/of that (person)

दर्शनम्sight; audience; दर्शन

दर्शन-श्रवःone whose fame is (from) seeing/being seen; renowned for giving audience (epithet)

महाप्राज्ञO very wise one

नागराजO king of serpents

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A wise person should act promptly upon good counsel and, when appropriate, offer ‘darśana’—a gracious audience or personal presence—as a meaningful gift that supports a seeker’s dharmic aim.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma urges a highly wise addressee to go to a certain place and to grant someone the benefit of meeting/seeing him, emphasizing the ethical value of responding to a worthy request.