Shloka 8

Vetasa-Nīti: The Reed and the Flood (वेतस-नीति)

Devanagari script

गजड़ोवाच तिष्ठन्त्येते यथास्थानं नगा होकनिकेतना: । ते त्यजन्ति ततः स्थान प्रातिलोम्यान्न वेतस:

Transliteration

sāgara uvāca | tiṣṭhanty ete yathāsthānaṃ nagāḥ sthāniketanāḥ | te tyajanti tataḥ sthānaṃ prātilomyān na vetasāḥ ||

Translation

Sāgara dit : «Ces arbres demeurent raides à leur place, comme si leur demeure y était scellée. Parce qu’ils s’opposent—refusant de céder—ils sont brisés et contraints d’abandonner leur lieu. Mais le roseau (vetaśa) n’est pas ainsi.»

Word by Word

• {'sāgara uvāca': '‘Sāgara said’ (speaker tag)', 'tiṣṭhanti': 'they stand, remain', 'ete': 'these', 'yathāsthānam': 'in their respective places

• as situated', 'nagāḥ': 'trees (lit. ‘immovable ones’)', 'sthāniketanāḥ': 'having a fixed abode

• rooted in one place', 'tyajanti': 'they abandon, give up', 'tataḥ': 'thereupon

• as a result', 'sthānam': 'place, position', 'prātilomyāt': 'from contrariness

• from acting against the proper course/flow', 'na': 'not', 'vetaśāḥ (vetaśaḥ)': 'cane, reed

Speaker

सागर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• सागर (Sāgara)
• नगाः (trees)
• वेतस/वेतश (cane/reed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Rigidity and contrariness toward an overwhelming force (symbolized by a current/flow) lead to ruin, whereas pliancy and timely yielding (symbolized by the reed) preserves one’s place and well-being—an ethical counsel toward humility and adaptability within dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sāgara uses a nature-based comparison: trees that stand stiffly against the current are uprooted and lose their place, while the reed survives because it bends. The verse functions as a didactic illustration within the Shānti Parva’s instruction-oriented discourse.