Shloka 22

Devanagari script

एतेभ्यश्चाप्रमत्त: स्यात्‌ सदा शत्रोर्युधिष्ठिर । भारुण्डसदृशा होते निपतन्ति प्रमादतः,युधिष्ठिर! इन सभी हिंसक जन्तुओं तथा शत्रुकी ओरसे राजाको सदा सावधान रहना चाहिये; क्योंकि असावधान होनेपर ये गिद्ध पक्षियोंके समान सहसा टूट पड़ते हैं

Transliteration

etebhyaś cāpramattaḥ syāt sadā śatror yudhiṣṭhira | bhāruṇḍa-sadṛśā hy ete nipatanti pramādataḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «Ô Yudhiṣṭhira, il faut demeurer sans cesse sur ses gardes contre tous ces périls et contre l’ennemi. Car lorsque le souverain se relâche, ils fondent soudain—tels les oiseaux bhāruṇḍa—et frappent sans avertir.»

Word by Word

एतेभ्यःfrom these

चand

अप्रमत्तःvigilant, not careless

स्यात्should be

सदाalways

शत्रोःof the enemy

युधिष्ठिरO Yudhiṣṭhira

भारुण्ड-सदृशाःlike vultures (bhāruṇḍa-birds)

ह्येतेfor these indeed

निपतन्तिfall upon, swoop down

प्रमादतःfrom carelessness; due to negligence

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Yudhiṣṭhira

śatru (enemy)

bhāruṇḍa (bird)

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?

A ruler must be constantly vigilant; negligence (pramāda) invites sudden danger, as enemies and harmful forces strike swiftly when one’s guard is down.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on kingship, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira, warning him that threats and enemies attack abruptly when a king becomes careless, illustrated through the image of swooping bhāruṇḍa birds.