Shloka 17

Rājā–Rāja-Śabda-Prabhavaḥ — The Origin and Rationale of Kingship and Daṇḍanīti

Devanagari script

नष्टायां प्रतिपत्तो च मोहवश्या नरास्तदा । लोभस्य वशमापतन्ना: सर्वे भरतसत्तम

Transliteration

naṣṭāyāṁ pratipattau ca mohavaśyā narās tadā | lobhasya vaśam āpannāḥ sarve bharatasattama ||

Translation

Bhishma dijo: «Cuando se perdió el recto entendimiento, los hombres de entonces quedaron indefensos bajo la ilusión; y todos ellos, oh el mejor de los Bharatas, cayeron bajo el dominio de la codicia.»

Word by Word

नष्टायाम्when (it) was lost/destroyed

प्रतिपत्तौin understanding/right judgment

चand

मोहवश्याःsubject to delusion

नराःmen/people

तदाthen/at that time

लोभस्यof greed

वशम्control/power

आपतन्fell into/reached

सर्वेall

भरतसत्तमO best of the Bharatas

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Bharatasattama (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

When discernment (pratipatti) is lost, delusion (moha) takes over, and greed (lobha) becomes the ruling force; ethical conduct collapses because inner clarity is the foundation of self-restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war, explaining how societies and individuals fall into wrongdoing: first by losing right judgment, then by becoming deluded, and finally by being driven by greed.