Shloka 8

Adhyāya 9: Pratiśruta-Dāna

The Duty to Fulfill Promised Gifts

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत अनुशासनपर्वके अन्तर्गत दानधर्मपर्वमें श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मणोंकी प्रशंशाविषयक आठवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

anenaivodāharantīmam itihāsaṁ purātanam | śṛgālasya ca saṁvādaṁ vānarasya ca bhārata || bhārata! asmin viṣaye vijñāḥ puruṣāḥ śṛgāla-vānara-saṁvāda-rūpaṁ prācīnam itihāsam udāharanti |

Translation

Bhishma dit : «À ce propos même, les sages citent un antique récit exemplaire : le dialogue entre un chacal et un singe, ô Bharata. Pour éclairer cette question, les hommes clairvoyants rapportent cette vieille histoire sous la forme de leur conversation.»

Word by Word

• {'anenaiva (anena + eva)': 'by this very (means)

• precisely in this connection', 'udāharanti': 'they cite

• they adduce as an example', 'imam': 'this', 'itihāsam': 'traditional narrative

• ancient tale (used as an instructive example)', 'purātanam / prācīnam': 'ancient

• old', 'śṛgāla': 'jackal', 'vānara': 'monkey', 'saṁvāda': 'dialogue

• conversation', 'bhārata': 'O Bharata (address to Yudhiṣṭhira / descendant of Bharata)', 'asmin viṣaye': 'in this matter

• on this topic', 'vijñāḥ puruṣāḥ': 'learned/discerning persons', 'rūpam': 'in the form of

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Bharata (Yudhishthira addressed as Bharata)
• Jackal (Śṛgāla)
• Monkey (Vānara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That ethical instruction (dharma) is often clarified through illustrative ancient tales (itihāsa), and that learned people support a point by citing a fitting example—in this case, the jackal–monkey dialogue.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma transitions into an exemplifying story: he announces that, regarding the topic under discussion, the wise traditionally recount an old tale presented as a conversation between a jackal and a monkey.