Shloka 34

Devanagari script

न च मेउत्र भवान्‌ गह्यों न च येषां भवान्‌ प्रिय: । हिताहितांस्तु बुद्धयेथा मा परोक्षमतिर्भवे:,परंतु इसके लिये मैं आपकी और आपके प्रेमियोंकी निन्‍्दा नहीं करता। मेरा कहना तो इतना ही है कि आप स्वयं अपने हित और अनहितको पहचानिये। प्रत्येक कार्यको अपनी आँखोंसे देखिये। दूसरोंकी देख-भालपर विश्वास न कीजिये

Transliteration

na ca me 'tra bhavān gāhyo na ca yeṣāṃ bhavān priyaḥ | hitāhitāṃs tu buddhyethā mā parokṣamatir bhaveḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «Ici, je ne te blâme pas, pas plus que ceux à qui tu es cher. Je dis seulement ceci : distingue par toi-même ce qui est vraiment salutaire et ce qui est nuisible. Que ton intelligence ne soit pas de seconde main : vois chaque voie d’action de tes propres yeux et ne remets pas ta confiance à la seule surveillance d’autrui.»

Word by Word

• {'na ca': 'and not

• nor', 'me': 'to me

• by me', 'atra': 'here

• in this matter', 'bhavān': 'you (honorific)', 'gāhyaḥ': 'to be censured/blamed

• to be reproached', 'yeṣām': 'of whom

• of those whose', 'priyaḥ': 'dear

• beloved', 'hitāhitān': 'the beneficial and the harmful

• welfare and non-welfare', 'tu': 'but

• indeed', 'buddhyethāḥ': 'you should understand/discern (2nd person optative/imperative sense)', 'mā': 'do not', 'parokṣa-matiḥ': 'an indirect/second-hand understanding

• mediated judgment', 'bhaveḥ': 'may you be

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• bhavān (the addressed interlocutor, unnamed in the verse)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma urges direct discernment: one should personally distinguish benefit from harm (hita vs. ahita) and avoid relying on second-hand judgment or merely trusting others to manage one’s affairs.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhishma addresses the listener with counsel. He clarifies that he is not blaming the person or their associates; rather, he is advising careful, firsthand evaluation of actions and consequences in the pursuit of right conduct.