Shloka 36

Bhaṅgāśvanopākhyāna — On comparative affection in strī–puruṣa union (भङ्गाश्वनोपाख्यानम्)

Devanagari script

अवगादश्न सरसि स्त्रीभूतो ब्राह्मणोत्तम । पुत्रान्‌ राज्ये प्रतिष्ठाप्प वनमस्मि ततो गत:

Transliteration

avagāḍaḥ snānaṃ sarasi strī-bhūto brāhmaṇottama | putrān rājye pratiṣṭhāpya vanam asmi tato gataḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dijo: «¡Oh, el mejor de los brāhmaṇas! Al sumergirme en cierto lago y bañarme allí, me transformé de hombre en mujer. Después de instalar a mis hijos en el reino, partí entonces hacia el bosque».

Word by Word

• अवगाद: I plunged/bathed
• अवगाद: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव√गाह्
• Form: Lung (Aorist), 1st, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अश्न: indeed/just (emphatic particle; often used in epic style)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अश्न (particle)

• सरसि: in the lake
• सरसि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• स्त्रीभूतः: having become a woman
• स्त्रीभूतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्त्रीभूत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ब्राह्मणोत्तम: O best of Brahmins
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण + उत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• पुत्रान्: sons
• पुत्रान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• राज्ये: in the kingdom / on the throne (in the realm of rule)
• राज्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्य
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• प्रतिष्ठाप्य: having स्थापित/installed (them)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति√स्था (causative: प्रतिष्ठापयति)
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Causative sense

• वनम्: to the forest
• वनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अस्मि: I am / (here:) I went (idiomatic with गतः)
• अस्मि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Lat (Present), 1st, Singular, Parasmaipada

• ततः: then/from there
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• गतः: gone
• गतः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (गत)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, Past passive participle

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• brāhmaṇa (addressed as brāhmaṇottama)
• a lake (saras)
• sons (putrāḥ)
• kingdom (rājya)
• forest (vana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds dharma through responsible transition: after an extraordinary personal change, the speaker ensures political continuity by installing heirs, then withdraws to the forest—highlighting duty to the realm followed by renunciant detachment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma recounts a past episode: bathing in a lake causes a sex transformation (male to female). After this event, the person places his sons in charge of the kingdom and leaves for forest life.