Shloka 21

Adharmic Victory as Unstable; Rules of Restraint, Mediation, and Conciliation (अधर्मविजय-अध्रुवत्व तथा क्षमा-नयः)

Devanagari script

अन्निहोत्राग्निशेषं च हविभोजनमेव च । आजहार दिवोदासस्ततो विप्रकृतो&भवत्‌

Transliteration

annihotrāgniśeṣaṃ ca havibhojanam eva ca | ājahāra divodāsas tato viprakṛto 'bhavat ||

Translation

भीष्म ने कहा—दिवोदास ने अग्निहोत्र की अग्नि का शेष तथा हवि-भोजन भी अपने लिए ले लिया; इसलिए वह विप्रों का अपराधी (विप्रकृत) कहलाया।

Word by Word

• अग्निहोत्राग्निशेषम्: the remainder (left) of the agnihotra fire-offering
• अग्निहोत्राग्निशेषम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्निहोत्र-अग्नि-शेष
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• हविभोजनम्: the eating of the oblation (havis)
• हविभोजनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: हविस्-भोजन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• आजहारा: brought/fetched
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-हृ
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular

• दिवोदासः: Divodāsa (proper name)
• दिवोदासः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवोदास
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ततः: then/thereupon
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• विप्रकृतः: wronged/ill-treated (by a brāhmaṇa / by the learned)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विप्रकृत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अभवत्: became/was
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Divodāsa
• Agnihotra
• Agni (sacrificial fire)
• havis (oblation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a king must not appropriate what belongs to sacred rites or priestly entitlement; violating ritual boundaries and disrespecting brāhmaṇas leads to moral blame and loss of dharmic standing.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma cites Divodāsa as an example: by taking the Agnihotra remainder and consuming what was meant as havis, Divodāsa incurred the fault of wronging brāhmaṇas and became censured as viprakṛta.