Shloka 23

Adhyāya 164: Gautama as Guest; Kaśyapa’s Satkāra and the Fourfold Arthagati; Journey to Virūpākṣa

Devanagari script

त्वया सत्यार्थिना नित्यं विजिता ज्येष्ठसेवनात्‌

Transliteration

tvayā satyārthinā nityaṃ vijitā jyeṣṭha-sevanāt | kathayanti—ime trayodaśa doṣāḥ śānti-dhāraṇena jitā bhavanti | dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putreṣu te sarve doṣāḥ santi, tvaṃ ca satyaṃ grahītuṃ icchasi; tasmāt jyeṣṭha-puruṣa-sevanena teṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ doṣāṇāṃ tvayā jayaḥ prāptaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma berkata: “Karena engkau senantiasa pencari kebenaran, engkau telah menaklukkan cela-cela itu melalui bakti yang terus-menerus kepada para sesepuh. Dikatakan bahwa ketiga belas kekurangan ini diatasi dengan menegakkan damai dan pengendalian diri. Semua cela itu ada pada putra-putra Dhritarashtra; namun engkau hendak menerima kebenaran. Maka dengan mendampingi para sesepuh yang mulia, engkau menang atas semuanya.”

Word by Word

• त्वया: by you
• त्वया: Karana
• Type: Noun/Pronoun
• Root: त्वद्
• Form: —, Instrumental, Singular

• सत्यार्थिना: by (one) seeking truth / truth-seeker
• सत्यार्थिना: Karana
• Type: Noun/Adjective
• Root: सत्यार्थिन्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य

• विजिताः: conquered / overcome
• विजिताः: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + जि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural, Past passive participle (kta)

• ज्येष्ठसेवनात्: from serving the elders/superiors
• ज्येष्ठसेवनात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्येष्ठसेवन
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Dhritarashtra
• sons of Dhritarashtra (Kauravas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Peaceful restraint (śānti-dhāraṇa) and the disciplined habit of serving and learning from elders (jyeṣṭha-sevā) enable a truth-seeker to overcome deep-seated vices; moral victory is portrayed as a result of humility, guidance, and steady inner calm.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma, instructing the listener in the Śānti Parva, contrasts the faults found among Dhritarashtra’s sons with the listener’s aspiration for truth, praising the listener for having conquered those faults through sustained peace and reverent service to venerable elders.