Shloka 35

Bhīṣma on the Śara-Śayyā: Yudhiṣṭhira and Kṛṣṇa Approach the Eldest for Śānti

Devanagari script

देशजातिकुलानां च जानीषे धर्मलक्षणम्‌ | वेदोक्तो यश्च शिष्टोक्त: सदैव विदितस्तव

Transliteration

deśa-jāti-kulānāṃ ca jānīṣe dharma-lakṣaṇam | vedokto yaś ca śiṣṭoktaḥ sadaiva viditas tava ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “You understand well the distinguishing marks of dharma as it applies to region, community, and lineage. And the dharma taught in the Vedas, as well as that affirmed by cultivated and learned elders, has long been known to you.”

Word by Word

• {'deśa': 'region, country

• local area with its customs', 'jāti': 'birth-group/community

• social category', 'kula': 'family, lineage, clan', 'dharma': 'duty, law, righteous conduct

• sustaining order', 'lakṣaṇa': 'mark, characteristic, defining feature', 'jānīṣe': 'you know, you understand (2nd person singular, present)', 'veda-ukta': 'stated in the Veda

• scripturally enjoined', 'śiṣṭa-ukta': 'spoken by the śiṣṭas—cultured, exemplary authorities

• traditional learned consensus', 'sadaiva': 'always, at all times', 'vidita': 'known, understood', 'tava': 'to you/your'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Veda
• śiṣṭa (learned/exemplary elders)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is recognized through multiple authoritative lenses: local practice (deśa), community norms (jāti), family/lineage traditions (kula), and overarching standards grounded in the Veda and affirmed by respected learned elders (śiṣṭas).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana addresses a listener as someone already well-versed in dharma—both in its contextual forms (regional, communal, familial) and in its higher authorities (Vedic injunction and the guidance of exemplary tradition-bearers).