Shloka 56

आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः

Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca

Devanagari script

सतां साप्तपदं मैत्रं स सखा मे5सि पण्डित: । सांवास्यकं करिष्यामि नास्ति ते भयमद्य वै

Transliteration

satāṁ sāptapadaṁ maitraṁ sa sakhā me ’si paṇḍitaḥ | sāṁvāsyakaṁ kariṣyāmi nāsti te bhayam adya vai ||

Translation

Bhishma dit : «Chez les vertueux, l’amitié se scelle pour avoir seulement fait sept pas ensemble. Puisque toi et moi vivons ici depuis longtemps dans une proche compagnie, tu es mon ami savant. J’accomplirai assurément le devoir dû à celui qui a partagé mon logis ; dès ce jour, tu n’as plus rien à craindre.»

Word by Word

• {'satām': 'of the good/virtuous people', 'sāptapadam': 'the ‘seven-step’ (bond)

• taking seven steps together as a sign of firm companionship', 'maitram': 'friendship, amity', 'sakhā': 'friend, companion', 'me': 'to me, my', 'asi': 'you are', 'paṇḍitaḥ': 'learned, wise person', 'sāṁvāsyakam': 'duty/obligation arising from living together

• hospitality and protection owed to a co-dweller/guest', 'kariṣyāmi': 'I shall do, I will perform', 'nāsti': 'there is not', 'te': 'for you, to you', 'bhayam': 'fear, danger', 'adya': 'today, from now', 'vai': 'indeed, certainly (emphatic particle)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True friendship among the virtuous is quickly established and then becomes a binding ethical obligation; one must honor the duties born of companionship—especially protection and reassurance—once a bond of shared life has formed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma addresses someone he has been living with in close association, declares that their companionship itself has made them friends, and promises to uphold the obligations of that relationship, assuring the other person of safety and freedom from fear.