Shloka 36
भीष्मस्वप्न-स्मृत्युपाख्यानम् | Bhīṣma’s Dream-Linked Recollection of the Paraśurāma Combat
नदी भविष्यसि शुभे कुटिला वार्षिकोदका । दुस्तीर्था न तु विज्ञेया वार्षिकी नाष्टमासिकी
nadī bhaviṣyasi śubhe kuṭilā vārṣikodakā | dustīrthā na tu vijñeyā vārṣikī nāṣṭamāsikī ||
राम ने कहा— “हे शुभे! तू नदी बनेगी—टेढ़ी-मेढ़ी, केवल वर्षा के जल से भरी। तेरा तीर्थ (घाट) दुर्लभ होगा; तू विश्वसनीय, नित्य प्रवाहिनी नदी के रूप में नहीं जानी जाएगी—तू केवल बरसाती होगी, आठ महीनों तक बहने वाली नहीं।”
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral causality expressed through authoritative speech: a being’s future condition can become diminished—crooked, seasonal, and difficult for others—rather than steady and beneficial. It implicitly values reliability, clarity, and serviceability (like a perennial, fordable river) as ethical ideals.
Rama addresses someone (vocative ‘śubhe’) and declares a transformation into a river characterized by winding course and rain-fed, seasonal water, with difficult crossings. The tone is that of a pronouncement/curse-like decree describing the nature and limitations of the future river.