Shloka 27

Devanagari script

कुर्यात्‌ तृणमयं चापं शयीत मृगशायिकाम्‌ । अन्ध: स्यादन्धवेलायां बाधिर्यमपि संश्रयेत्‌,“राजा बाँसका धनुष बनावे, हिरनके समान चौकन्ना होकर सोये, अंधा बने रहनेयोग्य समय हो तो अंधेका भाव किये रहे और अवसरके अनुसार बहरेका भाव भी स्वीकार कर ले

Transliteration

kuryāt tṛṇamayaṃ cāpaṃ śayīta mṛgaśāyikām | andhaḥ syād andhavelāyāṃ bādhiryam api saṃśrayet |

Translation

Dijo Bhīṣma: «Que se haga un arco de hierba; que se acueste sobre una piel de ciervo, siempre alerta como el ciervo. Cuando el tiempo lo exija, que se comporte como si fuera ciego; y, según la ocasión, que se ampare incluso en la actitud de la sordera». En sentido ético, el consejo exhorta a una sencillez disciplinada y a una vigilancia protectora, junto con una contención estratégica de la palabra y de la percepción: saber cuándo no reaccionar ni revelar, por dharma y por seguridad.

Word by Word

कुर्यात्should make/do

तृणमयम्made of grass

चापम्bow

शयीतshould lie down/sleep

मृगशायिकाम्a deerskin bed (deer-hide couch)

अन्धःblind (as if blind)

स्यात्should be

अन्धवेलायाम्at the time for being blind (when blindness is appropriate)

बाधिर्यम्deafness (the state of being deaf)

अपिalso/even

संश्रयेत्should resort to/assume

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

bow (cāpa)

grass (tṛṇa)

deerskin bedding (mṛgaśāyikā)

blindness (andhatva)

deafness (bādhirya)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches disciplined simplicity and strategic restraint: a ruler (or prudent person) should live with minimal display, remain constantly alert, and know when to withhold response—sometimes ‘seeing’ and ‘hearing’ less (i.e., acting blind or deaf) to avoid danger, provocation, or the disclosure of sensitive matters, while preserving dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on raja-dharma and practical governance. Here he gives a compact set of behavioral maxims—symbolic actions (a grass bow, deerskin bed) and tactical postures (acting blind/deaf when appropriate)—to illustrate vigilance, austerity, and prudent non-engagement in risky situations.