Shanti Parva Adhyaya 265 Shloka 51 - Mahabharata | French | Vedapath

Vyasa

Shloka 51

पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation

Devanagari script

चिरकारी शस्त्र त्यागकर अपने पिताको प्रणाम कर रहे हैं ईर्ष्याजं व्यसन प्राहुस्तेन चैवोर्ध्वरेतस: । ईर्ष्यया त्वहमाक्षिप्तो मग्नो दुष्कृतसागरे

Transliteration

īrṣyājaṃ vyasanaṃ prāhus tena caivordhvaretaḥ | īrṣyayā tv aham ākṣipto magno duṣkṛtasāgare ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : « Le sage Urdhvaretas déclare que le malheur né de la jalousie provient de cette même négligence. Frappé par la jalousie, j’ai été précipité dans l’océan des mauvaises actions, et j’y ai sombré. »

Word by Word

ईर्ष्याजम्born of envy

व्यसनम्calamity, misfortune

प्राहुःthey said/declare

तेनby that, because of that

चand

एवindeed, just

ऊर्ध्वरेतसःthe celibate/continent one (lit. one whose semen is upward)

ईर्ष्ययाby envy

तुbut, however

अहम्I

आक्षिप्तःthrown, cast

मग्नःsunk, immersed

दुष्कृतसागरेin the ocean of evil deeds/sin

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Urdhvaretas (sage)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Jealousy (īrṣyā), arising from heedlessness (pramāda), becomes a destructive vice that drags a person into wrongdoing; vigilance and self-restraint are implied as the antidotes.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma cites the authority of the sage Urdhvaretas and confesses his own moral downfall: jealousy struck him and plunged him into a figurative ‘ocean of sin,’ expressing remorse and warning against envy.