Shloka 11

Devanagari script

विशेषेण च वक्ष्यामि चातुर्वर्ण्यस्य लिड्ल्‍भत: । पज्चभूतशरीराणां सर्वेषां सदृशात्मनाम्‌

Transliteration

viśeṣeṇa ca vakṣyāmi cāturvarṇyasya lakṣaṇataḥ | pañcabhūtaśarīrāṇāṃ sarveṣāṃ sadṛśātmanām ||

Translation

Bhishma berkata: “Kini akan kujelaskan secara khusus tanda-tanda tatanan empat varṇa. Tubuh semua—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, dan śūdra—tersusun dari lima mahābhūta yang sama, dan Sang Diri (Ātman) di dalamnya pun serupa. Namun perbedaan ditetapkan dalam kewajiban duniawi dan kewajiban khusus, agar dengan setia menjalankan dharma masing-masing, semua makhluk kembali mencapai kesatuan; hal ini diuraikan panjang lebar dalam śāstra.”

Word by Word

• विशेषेण: in particular, especially
• विशेषेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशेष
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

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

• वक्ष्यामि: I shall speak / I will explain
• वक्ष्यामि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Simple Future (Luṭ), First, Singular, Parasmaipada

• चातुर्वर्ण्यस्य: of the fourfold varṇa-system
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्वर्ण्य
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• लिङ्गम्: mark, characteristic, definition
• लिङ्गम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• पञ्चभूतशरीराणाम्: of those whose bodies are (made of) the five elements
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्चभूतशरीर
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• सर्वेषाम्: of all
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• सदृशात्मनाम्: of those having similar/same Self
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सदृशात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• cāturvarṇya (brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra)
• pañcabhūta

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma emphasizes that all four varṇas share the same elemental bodily constitution and the same ātman; differences in prescribed duties are functional and ethical—meant to guide people through svadharma toward a higher unity.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma continues his discourse on dharma, announcing that he will describe the specific characteristics of the four varṇas while grounding the discussion in the shared nature of body (pañcabhūta) and Self (ātman).