Shloka 37

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

Devanagari script

ताराणां पतन दृष्ट्वा नक्षत्राणां च पर्ययम्‌ । द्न्द्धानां विप्रयोगं च विज्ञाय कृपणं नूप

Transliteration

tārāṇāṁ patanaṁ dṛṣṭvā nakṣatrāṇāṁ ca paryayam | dvandvānāṁ viprayogaṁ ca vijñāya kṛpaṇaṁ nṛpa naraśvara || ghora-utpāta-candra-grahaṇa-sūrya-grahaṇa-tārāṇāṁ tūṭakara-giranaṁ nakṣatrāṇāṁ gatiṣu ulṭa-pheraḥ pati-patnyoḥ duḥkhadāyaka-viyogaś ca—etāni jagati ghaṭamānāni jñātvā sva-kalyāṇasya upāyaṁ kartavyaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «En voyant les étoiles tomber, en observant le désordre dans la marche des constellations, et en reconnaissant la douloureuse rupture des liens de couple, ô roi—ô seigneur des hommes—il faut comprendre que ce sont là les présages redoutables qui surviennent dans le monde : éclipses de la lune et du soleil, étoiles qui se brisent et chutent, renversements dans le mouvement des nakṣatra, et séparation affligeante de l’époux et de l’épouse. Connaissant de tels signes, on doit entreprendre les moyens de son propre bien.»

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'tārā', 'meaning': 'star'}, {'term': 'patana', 'meaning': 'falling, descent'}, {'term': 'dṛṣṭvā', 'meaning': 'having seen'}, {'term': 'nakṣatra', 'meaning': 'lunar mansion/constellation

• asterism'}, {'term': 'paryaya', 'meaning': 'change, reversal, irregular alternation'}, {'term': 'dvandva', 'meaning': 'a pair

• a coupled relation (also: duality/opposites)'}, {'term': 'viprayoga', 'meaning': 'separation, disunion'}, {'term': 'vijñāya', 'meaning': 'having understood/recognized'}, {'term': 'kṛpaṇa', 'meaning': 'wretched, pitiable

• in distress'}, {'term': 'nṛpa / naraśvara', 'meaning': 'king

• lord of men'}, {'term': 'ghora', 'meaning': 'terrible, dreadful'}, {'term': 'utpāta', 'meaning': 'portent, ominous phenomenon'}, {'term': 'grahaṇa', 'meaning': 'eclipse (lit. ‘seizing’)'}, {'term': 'candra / sūrya', 'meaning': 'moon / sun'}, {'term': 'jagat', 'meaning': 'the world'}, {'term': 'kalyāṇa', 'meaning': 'welfare, auspicious good'}, {'term': 'upāya', 'meaning': 'means, remedy, practical course'}, {'term': 'kartavya', 'meaning': 'what ought to be done

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• nṛpa (the king addressed, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira in context)
• tārā (stars)
• nakṣatra (constellations/lunar mansions)
• candra (moon)
• sūrya (sun)
• grahaṇa (eclipse)
• utpāta (portents)
• pati-patnī (husband and wife)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma urges the king to read the world’s disturbances—cosmic irregularities and social ruptures—as warnings that life is unstable, and therefore to actively pursue one’s true welfare (kalyāṇa) through right conduct and prudent action rather than complacency.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma lists ominous phenomena—eclipses, falling stars, altered stellar motions, and painful separations within human relationships—to impress upon the ruler the urgency of taking corrective, dharmic measures for personal and public well-being.