Shloka 30

Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)

Devanagari script

ऐश्वर्याच्च्यावितान्‌ दृष्टवा कालेन महता नृप । महतां भूतसंघानां श्रुत्वा नाशं च पार्थिव

Transliteration

aiśvaryāccyāvitān dṛṣṭvā kālena mahatā nṛpa | mahatāṁ bhūtasaṅghānāṁ śrutvā nāśaṁ ca pārthiva ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : Ô roi, ayant vu comment, au cours d’un long temps, les hommes sont déchus de la prospérité, et ayant entendu aussi la destruction de grandes multitudes d’êtres, il faut comprendre l’instabilité du pouvoir mondain et tourner son esprit vers la fermeté dans le dharma plutôt que vers l’orgueil de la fortune.

Word by Word

• ऐश्वर्यात्: from sovereignty/power
• ऐश्वर्यात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऐश्वर्य
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• च्यावितान्: fallen/dislodged (from)
• च्यावितान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: च्यावित (√च्यु)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश्
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund)

• कालेन: by Time
• कालेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• महता: great/mighty
• महता: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• नृप: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• महताम्: of great (ones)
• महताम्: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• भूत-संघानाम्: of multitudes of beings
• भूत-संघानाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत + संघ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• Type: Verb
• Root: √श्रु
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund)

• नाशम्: destruction
• नाशम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाश
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

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

• पार्थिव: O ruler/king
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• King (Yudhishthira implied)
• Time (Kāla)
• Hosts of beings (bhūtasaṅgha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Worldly prosperity and authority are unstable: time inevitably brings decline and destruction. Recognizing this, a ruler should cultivate humility, restraint, and commitment to dharma rather than relying on fortune.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs the king (addressed as nṛpa/pārthiva). Here he points to observed and heard examples of the fall of the powerful and the ruin of great multitudes over long time, setting a reflective, ethical frame for counsel on right conduct.