Shloka 5

Śānti Parva, Adhyāya 52 — Bhīṣma’s Humility Before Kṛṣṇa and the Granting of Boons

Devanagari script

“देव! लोकमें कहीं भी जो कुछ कर्तव्य किया जाता है, वह सब आप बुद्धिमान्‌ परमेश्वरसे ही प्रकट हुआ है ।।

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | deva! loke kvacid api yat kiñcit kartavyaṃ kriyate, tat sarvaṃ tvad-buddhimataḥ parameśvarāt eva prakaṭitam | kathayed devalokaṃ yo devarāja-samīpataḥ | dharma-kāma-artha-mokṣāṇāṃ so 'rthaṃ brūyāt tavāgrataḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô Seigneur ! Quel que soit le devoir accompli quelque part dans le monde, il a, en vérité, été manifesté par Toi, Souverain suprême et sage. Seul celui qui aurait l’audace de raconter les affaires du ciel en se tenant près d’Indra, roi des dieux, est digne de parler devant Toi du sens véritable de dharma, artha, kāma et mokṣa.»

Word by Word

• {'deva': 'O god

• O Lord', 'loke': 'in the world', 'kvacit api': 'anywhere at all', 'yat kiñcit': 'whatever, anything whatsoever', 'kartavyam': 'duty

• what ought to be done', 'kriyate': 'is done

• is performed', 'tat sarvam': 'all that', 'parameśvara': 'Supreme Lord

• highest ruler', 'prakaṭitam': 'made manifest

• revealed', 'kathayet': 'should/can narrate

• would recount', 'devalokam': 'the world of the gods

• heaven', 'devarāja': 'king of the gods (Indra)', 'samīpataḥ': 'from near

• in the presence of', 'dharma': 'righteous order

• moral law', 'artha': 'material welfare

• purpose', 'kāma': 'desire

• pleasure', 'mokṣa': 'liberation', "arthaḥ (so 'rtham)": 'meaning

• true import', 'brūyāt': 'should say

• could declare', 'tavāgrataḥ': 'before you

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Parameśvara (Supreme Lord)
• Indra (Devarāja)
• Devaloka (heaven)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse grounds human duty (kartavya) in a higher, divine source and implies that speaking authoritatively about the four aims of life—dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa—requires exceptional spiritual and moral qualification, symbolized by the ability to speak even in Indra’s presence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is emphasizing the greatness of the addressed Lord and setting a high bar for who is competent to expound the puruṣārthas, using the image of narrating the affairs of heaven near Indra as a measure of courage and authority.