Shloka 70

Devanagari script

नफमश (0) अत +- ॥। 3० श्रीपरमात्मने नम: ।।

Transliteration

mātāpitr̥sahasrāṇi putradāraśatāni ca | saṃsāreṣv anubhūtāni yānti yāsyanti cāpare ||

harṣasthānasahasrāṇi bhayasthānaśatāni ca | divase divase mūḍham āviśanti na paṇḍitam ||

ūrdhvabāhur virau my eṣa na ca kaś cic chṛṇoti me | dharmād arthaś ca kāmaś ca sa kimarthaṃ na sevyate ||

na jātu kāmān na bhayān na lobhād dharmaṃ tyajej jīvitasya api hetoḥ | nityo dharmaḥ sukhaduḥkhe tv anitye jīvo nityo hetur asya tv anityaḥ ||

imāṃ bhāratasāvitrīṃ prātar utthāya yaḥ paṭhet | sa bhārataphalaṃ prāpya paraṃ brahmādhigacchati ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Au fil de l’existence dans le saṃsāra, l’homme a déjà connu—et continuera de connaître—d’innombrables unions et séparations : des milliers de mères et de pères, des centaines d’épouses et d’enfants. Jour après jour, le sot est assailli par mille occasions de joie et cent occasions de crainte ; mais elles n’ébranlent pas l’esprit du sage. Je crie, les deux bras levés, et pourtant nul ne m’écoute : du dharma naissent non seulement la délivrance, mais aussi la prospérité et le plaisir—pourquoi donc les hommes ne le cultivent-ils pas ? Qu’on n’abandonne jamais le dharma par désir, par peur, par avidité, ni même pour sauver sa vie. Le dharma est éternel, tandis que joie et peine sont impermanentes ; de même, le soi (jīva) est éternel, et la cause de son asservissement est impermanente. Cet enseignement essentiel du Mahābhārata, connu sous le nom de « Bharata-Sāvitrī », récité chaque matin au réveil, confère le fruit de l’étude de tout le Mahābhārata et mène au Brahman suprême.

Word by Word

• मातापितृसहस्राणि: thousands of mothers and fathers
• मातापितृसहस्राणि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातृ + पितृ + सहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• पुत्रदारशतानि: hundreds of sons and wives
• पुत्रदारशतानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र + दार + शत
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• संसारेषु: in worldly existences
• संसारेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संसार
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• अनुभूतानि: experienced
• अनुभूतानि: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनु + √भू (भव्)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• यान्ति: go (pass away)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या
• Form: Present, 3rd, Plural

• यास्यन्ति: will go
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या
• Form: Simple Future, 3rd, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अपरे: others
• अपरे: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Bhārata (Mahābhārata)
• Bhārata-sāvitrī
• Paraṃ Brahma (Supreme Brahman)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Worldly relationships and emotional highs and lows repeat endlessly in saṃsāra; therefore one should not be ruled by joy and fear. Dharma alone is to be cultivated because it supports not only liberation but also rightful prosperity (artha) and pleasure (kāma). Dharma and the self are presented as enduring, while pleasure/pain and the causes of bondage are impermanent—so dharma should never be abandoned even under pressure from desire, fear, greed, or survival instinct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana delivers a compact, proverbial set of verses presented as the ‘Bhārata-sāvitrī,’ an essence-summary of the Mahābhārata’s ethical vision. The speaker adopts the dramatic image of proclaiming with raised arms—lamenting that people still ignore dharma—then concludes with a phalaśruti: daily morning recitation yields the merit of studying the entire epic and leads toward realization of the Supreme Brahman.