Shloka 226

Prajñā as Pratiṣṭhā — Indra–Kāśyapa Saṃvāda (Śānti-parva 12.173)

Devanagari script

दस्यूनां दीयतामेष कृतघ्नोड्द्यैव राक्षसा: । यह सुनकर राक्षसराजने उन निशाचरोंसे कहा--'राक्षसो! ऐसा ही सही, इस कृतघ्नको आज ही डाकुओंके हवाले कर दो”

Transliteration

dasyūnāṃ dīyatām eṣa kṛtaghno ’dyaiva rākṣasāḥ |

Translation

Bhīṣma dijo: «Entregad de inmediato a este desagradecido a los bandidos, oh Rākṣasas». Al oírlo, el señor de los Rākṣasas dijo a los noctámbulos: «Rākṣasas, así sea: entregad hoy mismo a este ingrato en manos de los salteadores».

Word by Word

• दस्यूनाम्: of/for the robbers
• दस्यूनाम्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दस्यु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• दीयताम्: let (him) be given/handed over
• दीयताम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (दाने)
• Form: Imperative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Passive

• एषः: this (man)
• एषः: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कृतघ्नः: ungrateful (one)
• कृतघ्नः: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतघ्न
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उद्यैव: today itself
• उद्यैव: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उद्य + एव

• राक्षसाः: O Rakshasas!
• राक्षसाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Plural

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Rākṣasa-rāja (lord/king of the Rākṣasas)
• Rākṣasas
• Niśācaras (night-roamers)
• Dasyus (bandits/robbers)
• kṛtaghna (the ungrateful person, unnamed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse treats ingratitude (kṛtaghnatā) as a serious ethical failing. Forgetting or betraying received help is portrayed as socially corrosive and deserving of decisive censure and punishment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma reports a command attributed to a Rākṣasa leader: the ‘ungrateful’ person is to be handed over immediately to bandits. The surrounding prose (as reflected in the provided Hindi) frames it as the Rākṣasa-king instructing his followers (niśācaras) to carry out this order.