Shloka 41

Adhyāya 128 — Proposal to Restrain Keśava; Sātyaki’s Warning and Vidura–Dhṛtarāṣṭra Counsel

Devanagari script

भीष्मेण हि महाप्राज्ञ पित्रा ते बाह्लिकेन च । दत्तों5श: पाण्डुपुत्राणां भेदाद्‌ भीतैररिंदम

Transliteration

bhīṣmeṇa hi mahāprājña pitrā te bāhlikena ca | datto ’ṁśaḥ pāṇḍuputrāṇāṁ bhedād bhītair ariṁdama ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “O highly wise one, O subduer of foes—because they feared a rupture and internal dissension, Bhīṣma, your father, and King Bāhlīka indeed granted the sons of Pāṇḍu a share of the kingdom.”

Word by Word

• भीष्मेण: by Bhīṣma
• भीष्मेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• महाप्राज्ञ: O very wise one
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाप्राज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• पित्रा: by (your) father
• पित्रा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• ते: of you/your
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• बाह्लिकेन: by Bāhlīka
• बाह्लिकेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाह्लिक
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• दत्तः: was given
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, Past passive participle (क्त)

• अंशः: a share/portion
• अंशः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अंश
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पाण्डुपुत्राणाम्: of the sons of Pāṇḍu (the Pāṇḍavas)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डुपुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• भेदात्: from/owing to division (dissension)
• भेदात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भेद
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• भीतैः: by those who were afraid
• भीतैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भीत
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural, Past passive participle (क्त) from √भी

• अरिंदम: O subduer of foes
• Type: Noun
• Root: अरिंदम
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Bhīṣma
• Bāhlīka
• Pāṇḍuputra (Pāṇḍavas)
• the addressee (likely Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied by 'your father')

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler’s duty includes preventing destructive internal schism; granting a rightful share to aggrieved kin can be an ethical act of statecraft aimed at preserving social order and avoiding fratricidal war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana explains that senior Kuru authorities—Bhīṣma, the addressee’s father, and King Bāhlīka—previously allotted the Pāṇḍavas a portion of the kingdom because they feared a dangerous split within the family and the realm.