Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 12 Shloka 36 - Mahabharata | French | Vedapath

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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 dit : «Ô le meilleur des brāhmaṇas ! M’étant plongé dans un certain lac et m’y étant baigné, je fus transformé d’homme en femme. Après avoir établi mes fils sur le trône du royaume, je partis ensuite pour la forêt.»

Word by Word

अवगादI plunged/bathed

अश्नindeed/just (emphatic particle; often used in epic style)

सरसिin the lake

स्त्रीभूतःhaving become a woman

ब्राह्मणोत्तमO best of Brahmins

पुत्रान्sons

राज्येin the kingdom / on the throne (in the realm of rule)

प्रतिष्ठाप्यhaving स्थापित/installed (them)

वनम्to the forest

अस्मिI am / (here:) I went (idiomatic with गतः)

ततःthen/from there

गतःgone

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

brāhmaṇa (addressed as brāhmaṇottama)

a lake (saras)

sons (putrāḥ)

kingdom (rājya)

forest (vana)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

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.