Shloka 5

Vītahavya’s Attainment of Brāhmaṇya (Vītahavya–Vipratva) | वीतहव्यस्य ब्राह्मण्यप्राप्तिः

Devanagari script

मतड़ परम स्थानं वार्यमाणो5सकृन्मया । चिकीर्षस्येव तपसा सर्वथा न भविष्यसि

Transliteration

mataṅga paraṁ sthānaṁ vāryamāṇo 'sakṛn mayā | cikīrṣasyeva tapasā sarvathā na bhaviṣyasi ||

Translation

Bhishma dit : «Ô Mataṅga, bien que je t’aie maintes fois retenu, tu persistes à désirer cet état suprême par l’ascèse. Si tu poursuis ainsi, tu ne demeureras plus tel que tu es : ton existence même s’éteindra.»

Word by Word

• {'mataṅga': 'Mataṅga (a person addressed by name)', 'param': 'supreme, highest', 'sthānam': 'state, station, abode, position', 'vāryamāṇaḥ': 'being restrained/forbidden, being dissuaded', 'asakṛt': 'again and again, repeatedly', 'mayā': 'by me', 'cikīrṣasi': 'you wish to do/undertake

• you intend', 'iva': 'as if, as though (emphatic/illustrative particle)', 'tapasā': 'by austerity, through ascetic practice', 'sarvathā': 'in every way, entirely', 'na bhaviṣyasi': 'you will not be

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Mataṅga

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns that spiritual ambition pursued stubbornly, without heed to wise restraint, can become self-destructive; even the quest for a “supreme state” must be aligned with proper discernment and dharma, not mere insistence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma addresses Mataṅga directly, saying he has repeatedly tried to dissuade him from seeking an exalted spiritual station through severe austerities, and cautions that persisting in this course will lead to the loss of his very existence/condition.