Shloka 22

Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)

Devanagari script

गतदैवतसंस्थाना वृद्धबालविनाकृता । गोजाविमहिषीहीना परस्परपराहता,देवालय तथा मठ-मन्दिर आदि संस्थाएँ उठ गयी थीं, बालक और बूढ़े मर गये थे, गाय, भेड़, बकरी और भैंसें प्रायः समाप्त हो गयी थीं, क्षुधातुर प्राणी एक-दूसरेपर आघात करते थे

Transliteration

gatadaivatasaṁsthānā vṛddhabālavinākṛtā | gojāvimahiṣīhīnā parasparaparāhatā ||

Translation

ビーシュマは語った。「その地は聖なる制度と礼拝の場を失い、老いも若きも滅びた。牛・羊・山羊・水牛はほとんど姿を消した。飢えに駆られ、生きものは互いに打ち合った—ダルマと糧が断たれたとき、社会が崩れ落ちるさまの象徴である。」

Word by Word

गतgone, departed

दैवत-संस्थानाःreligious establishments/temples (lit. deity-institutions)

वृद्ध-बाल-विनाकृताःdeprived of old people and children

गो-अज-अवि-महिषी-हीनाःwithout cows, goats, sheep, and buffalo-cows

परस्पर-पराहताःstriking one another / mutually injured

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

daivata-saṁsthāna (temples/sacred institutions)

vṛddha (elders)

bāla (children)

go (cows)

jāvi (sheep/goats)

mahiṣī (buffaloes)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

When dharma-supporting institutions and basic sustenance collapse, society descends into fear and mutual violence; the verse warns that protecting religious-social order and ensuring food security are ethical duties of governance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma depicts a devastated realm: worship-centers and institutions have vanished, vulnerable age-groups have died, livestock is depleted, and hunger drives people to attack each other—illustrating the extreme conditions of disorder and scarcity.