Shloka 29

नारायणीयमाख्यानम् (Nārāyaṇīyam Ākhyānam) — Nārada’s Return and Hymnic Consolidation

Devanagari script

आसाद्य तमृषिं सर्वा: सम्भ्रान्ता गतचेतस: । जले निलिल्यिरे काश्रनित्‌ काश्रनिद्‌ गुल्मान्‌ प्रपेदिरे

Transliteration

āsādya tam ṛṣiṁ sarvāḥ sambhrāntā gata-cetasaḥ | jale nililyire kāścid kāścid gulmān prapedire ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : Parvenues auprès de ce sage, toutes — bouleversées, l’esprit égaré — réagirent avec effroi : les unes se jetèrent dans l’eau, les autres s’enfuirent et se cachèrent dans les fourrés. La scène montre comment le trouble et la perte de maîtrise peuvent pousser à des gestes impulsifs de protection de soi, même devant une autorité spirituelle.

Word by Word

आसाद्यhaving approached / reaching

तम्him / that (one)

ऋषिम्sage

सर्वाःall (of them)

सम्भ्रान्ताःagitated / bewildered

गतचेतसःwhose minds were gone (out of their senses)

जलेin water

निलिल्यिरेthey hid / they plunged (themselves)

काश्रनित्Kāśranit (a kind of thicket/plant; uncertain reading)

काश्रनित्Kāśranit (repeated; uncertain reading)

गुल्मान्thickets / bushes

प्रपेदिरेthey resorted to / they entered / they reached

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

a rishi (sage)

water (jala)

thickets/bushes (gulma)

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?

The verse highlights the ethical importance of steadiness of mind (self-control): when people become sambhrānta (agitated) and gata-cetasaḥ (mentally unmoored), they act rashly—seeking immediate safety rather than responding with discernment, even near a sage who represents restraint and higher insight.

What is happening in the narrative?

A group reaches a rishi; upon encountering him, they are seized by panic and confusion. Some hide by plunging into water, while others run into nearby thickets for cover.