Shloka 56

Devanagari script

तान्‌ दृष्टवा जाह्ववीपुत्र: प्रोवाच तनयं तव

Transliteration

tān dṛṣṭvā jāhnavīputraḥ provāca tanayaṃ tava—vatsa, imān cikitsakān dhanaṃ dattvā sammānapūrvakaṃ vidārayasva; mama iha asyām avasthāyām adhunā ebhir vaidyaiḥ kiṃ kāryam asti?

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Les voyant, Bhīṣma—fils de Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)—s’adressa à ton fils : «Mon enfant, honore ces médecins par des présents et renvoie-les avec égards. Dans l’état où je suis à présent, à quoi me serviraient encore ces praticiens ici ?»

Word by Word

• तान्: them
• तान्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral), Non-finite

• जाह्ववी-पुत्रः: the son of Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā), i.e., Bhīṣma
• जाह्ववी-पुत्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाह्ववीपुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रोवाच: said/spoke
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• तनयम्: son
• तनयम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनय
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• तव: of you/your
• तव: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīṣma
• Gaṅgā (Jāhnavī)
• Duryodhana
• physicians (cikitsakāḥ/vaidyāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in suffering, one should uphold propriety: Bhīṣma asks that the physicians be honored and dismissed respectfully, while also expressing detachment from bodily cure in a moment governed by destiny and warrior-duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

After seeing the attending healers, Bhīṣma addresses Duryodhana and tells him to reward the physicians and send them away, declaring that in his current condition he has no need of medical treatment.