Shloka 97
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
तस्मान्निषादा: सम्भूता: क्रूरा: शैलवनाश्रया: । ये चान्ये विन्धथ्यनिलया म्लेच्छा: शतसहस्रश:,उसीसे पर्वतों और वनोंमें रहनेवाले क्रूर निषादोंकी उत्पत्ति हुई तथा दूसरे जो विन्ध्यगिरिके निवासी लाखों म्लेच्छ थे, उनका भी प्रादुर्भाव हुआ
tasmān niṣādāḥ sambhūtāḥ krūrāḥ śailavanāśrayāḥ | ye cānye vindhyānilayā mlecchāḥ śatasahasraśaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “From that cause arose the Niṣādas—fierce folk who made their dwelling in mountains and forests. Likewise, countless Mlecchas, in hundreds of thousands, came into being—those who lived in the Vindhya region.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions within Bhīṣma’s broader dharma-and-polity discourse by mapping how different communities are described as arising and where they are said to dwell. It reflects the epic’s attempt to explain social and cultural diversity through origin narratives, while also revealing value-laden labels (e.g., ‘krūra’, ‘mleccha’) used in that discourse.
Bhīṣma continues an account of the emergence of various peoples. Here he states that Niṣādas—portrayed as fierce and living in mountains and forests—arose, and that vast numbers of Mlecchas associated with the Vindhya region also appeared.