Shloka 4

Devanagari script

न खल्वस्यकृतार्थेन स्त्रीबुद्धया मार्दवीकृता । मद्वियोगेन सुश्रोणि विमुक्ता धर्मसेतुना

Transliteration

na khalv asyakṛtārthena strībuddhyā mārdavīkṛtā | madviyogena suśroṇi vimuktā dharmasetunā ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “Surely you have not been softened into helplessness by a woman’s wavering judgment, have you? O fair-hipped one, did separation from me cause you to slip free from the bridge of dharma—so that the boundary of righteousness was left unguarded and you turned away from the path of duty?”

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• खलु: indeed, surely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: खलु

• अस्य: of this (person/thing)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: masculine/neuter, genitive, singular

• अकृतार्थेन: by/with one who is unsuccessful (unfulfilled)
• अकृतार्थेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अकृतार्थ
• Form: masculine/neuter, instrumental, singular

• स्त्रीबुद्धया: by feminine-mindedness / by a woman's understanding
• स्त्रीबुद्धया: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्रीबुद्धि
• Form: feminine, instrumental, singular

• मार्दवीकृता: made soft/weak; enfeebled
• मार्दवीकृता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मार्दवीकृत
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• मद्वियोगेन: by separation from me
• मद्वियोगेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मद्वियोग
• Form: masculine, instrumental, singular

• सुश्रोणि: O fair-hipped one
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुश्रोणि
• Form: feminine, vocative, singular

• विमुक्ता: released, loosened; turned away
• विमुक्ता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विमुक्त
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• धर्मसेतुना: by the bridge/boundary of dharma (moral restraint)
• धर्मसेतुना: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्मसेतु
• Form: masculine, instrumental, singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma (भीष्म)
• suśroṇī (सुश्रोणि, an addressed woman—unnamed in this pāda)
• dharma (धर्म)
• dharma-setu (धर्मसेतु, ‘bridge/embankment of dharma’ as an ethical metaphor)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse stresses guarding the ‘dharma-setu’—the moral boundary that keeps one steady in duty—especially during emotional upheaval like separation. Ethical life is portrayed as something to be protected from inner softness, confusion, or wavering resolve.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma addresses a woman (called ‘suśroṇī’) and questions whether his absence has weakened her resolve, causing her to fall away from dharma. The speech uses the metaphor of dharma as a bridge/embankment that must not be abandoned or left unprotected.