Shloka 29

Bhūmi-dānasya Māhātmya

The Pre-eminence of Land-Gift

Devanagari script

किन्नरोरगरक्षांसि देवगन्धर्वमानवा: । तथा ऋषिगणाश्रैव संश्रयन्ति महीरुहान्‌

Transliteration

kinnaroragarakṣāṃsi devagandharvamānavāḥ | tathā ṛṣigaṇāś caiva saṃśrayanti mahīruhān ||

Translation

ビーシュマは言った。「キンナラ、ナーガ、ラークシャサ、神々、ガンダルヴァ、人間—さらにリシたちの群れもまた—大樹に身を寄せ、そこに帰依する。」この教えにおいて樹は、あらゆる存在に等しく開かれた普遍の庇護として讃えられ、その庇護の源を守り養うことがダルマの価値であると示される。

Word by Word

• किन्नर: Kinnaras (a class of celestial beings)
• किन्नर: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: किन्नर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• उरग: serpents
• उरग: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: उरग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• रक्षांसि: Rakshasas/demons
• रक्षांसि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: रक्षस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• देव: gods
• देव: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• गन्धर्व: Gandharvas
• गन्धर्व: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धर्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मानवाः: humans/men
• मानवाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तथा: likewise/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• ऋषि: sages
• ऋषि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• गणाः: groups/hosts
• गणाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

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

• संश्रयन्ति: take refuge in/resort to
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-श्रि
• Form: Present (Lat), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• महीरुहान्: trees (lit. earth-growers)
• महीरुहान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महीरुह
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Kinnara
• Uraga (Nāga/serpents)
• Rākṣasa
• Deva
• Gandharva
• Mānava (humans)
• Ṛṣigaṇa (groups of sages)
• Mahīruha (great trees)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That great trees function as universal refuges for all kinds of beings; therefore, protecting and honoring such shelters aligns with dharma and the ethic of sustaining life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, in his instruction during the Anuśāsana Parva, lists many classes of beings—celestial, human, and non-human—who all resort to great trees for shelter, emphasizing their shared reliance on them.