Shanti Parva Adhyaya 169 Shloka 40 - Mahabharata | French | Vedapath

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Shloka 40

मृत्यु-काल-प्रबोधनम् (Instruction on Mortality, Time, and Truth) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 169

Devanagari script

जटाचीराजिनधर: स्वाध्यायपरम: शुचि: । विनीतो नियताहारो ब्रह्माण्यो वेदपारग:

Transliteration

jaṭācīrājinadharaḥ svādhyāyaparamaḥ śuciḥ | vinīto niyatāhāro brahmāṇyo vedapāragaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «Il portait des mèches emmêlées, des vêtements d’écorce et une peau de daim. Dévoué avant tout à l’étude sacrée, pur dans sa conduite, humble et sobre dans sa nourriture, il honorait les brahmanes et avait maîtrisé les Veda.»

Word by Word

जटा-चीर-अजिन-धरःwearing matted hair, bark-cloth and deer-skin

स्वाध्याय-परमःdevoted chiefly to self-study (Vedic recitation)

शुचिःpure, clean

विनीतःwell-disciplined, humble

नियत-आहारःhaving regulated food/diet

ब्रह्मण्यःdevoted to Brahmins / favorable to Brahmanical dharma

वेद-पारगःone who has gone to the far shore of the Vedas; master of the Vedas

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

a Brahmin (brāhmaṇa)

matted locks (jaṭā)

bark-garment (cīra)

deer-skin (ajina)

the Vedas (vedāḥ)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents an ethical portrait of an exemplary Brahmin/ascetic: purity, humility, regulated living, reverence for dharma and Brahmins, and foremost dedication to svādhyāya (Vedic study). External marks (jaṭā, bark-cloth, deer-skin) are paired with inner discipline and learning.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma describes the arrival/character of a Brahmin ascetic, emphasizing his appearance and virtues—his austere dress, commitment to sacred recitation and study, disciplined diet, and mastery of the Vedas—setting up the moral authority of the figure within the surrounding discourse.