Shloka 4

Devanagari script

नेत्रहीनो यथा होक: कृच्छाणि लभते<ध्वनि । ज्ञानहीनस्तथा लोके तस्माज्ज्ञानविदोडधिका:,जैसे नेत्रहीन पुरुष मार्गमें अकेला होनेपर तरह-तरहके दुःख पाता है, उसी प्रकार संसारमें ज्ञानहीन मनुष्यको भी अनेक प्रकारके कष्ट भोगने पढ़ते हैं; इसलिये ज्ञानी पुरुष ही सबसे श्रेष्ठ है

Transliteration

netrahīno yathā loke kṛcchrāṇi labhate dhvani | jñānahīnas tathā loke tasmāj jñānavidho 'dhikāḥ ||

Translation

ビーシュマは言った。「目なき者が独り道を行けば、さまざまな艱難に遭うように、この世でも知を欠く者は多種の苦しみを耐えねばならぬ。ゆえに、知を知る者—賢者—こそ最も勝れた者である。」

Word by Word

नेत्रहीनःone who is without eyes; blind

यथाjust as

लोकःworld; people

कृच्छ्राणिhardships; troubles

लभतेobtains; meets with

तथाso; likewise

लोकेin the world

ज्ञानहीनःdevoid of knowledge; ignorant

तस्मात्therefore; from that

ज्ञानवित्knower; wise person

अधिकःsuperior; greater

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

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?

Ignorance is like blindness: it makes one vulnerable to repeated hardship. Knowledge (jñāna) is presented as the highest aid for right living, hence the wise are called the foremost.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma continues advising on right conduct and the foundations of well-being, using a simple analogy (blind traveler) to stress the practical necessity of knowledge.