Shloka 102

Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment

Parāśara’s Instruction

Devanagari script

यज्ञवाहाय दान्ताय तप्यायातपनाय च | नमस्तटाय तट्याय तटानां पतये नमः

Transliteration

yajñavāhāya dāntāya tapyāyātapanāya ca | namas taṭāya taṭyāya taṭānāṃ pataye namaḥ ||

Translation

ビーシュマはここに呼びかけられる聖なる力に敬礼する。祭祀を担う者、自らを制する者、苦行の熱（タパス）そのものであり、またその熱に耐える者に。川の岸と、岸に属するすべてに。さらに、あらゆる岸の主に、重ねて敬礼する。

Word by Word

• यज्ञवाहाय: to the bearer/carrier of the sacrifice
• यज्ञवाहाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञवाह
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• दान्ताय: to the self-controlled (one)
• दान्ताय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दान्त
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• तप्याय: to the ascetic / one devoted to tapas
• तप्याय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तप्य
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• आतपनाय: to the heat/sunshine (as a divine epithet)
• आतपनाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आतपन
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

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

• नमः: salutation
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस्

• तटाय: to the bank/shore
• तटाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तट
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• तट्याय: to the one pertaining to the bank/shore
• तट्याय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तट्य
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• तटानाम्: of banks/shores
• तटानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तट
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• पतये: to the lord/master
• पतये: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• नमः: salutation
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस्

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• yajña (sacrifice)
• tapas (austerity)
• taṭa (river-bank/shore)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Ethical steadiness is rooted in reverence for yajña (ordered duty and sacred offering) and tapas (disciplined self-restraint). By praising the bearer of sacrifice and the ascetic power of endurance, the verse elevates self-control and sustained practice as foundations of dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction, Bhīṣma is reciting a devotional formula of salutations (stuti/namaskāra), invoking a revered power through multiple epithets—linked to sacrifice, austerity, and the protective boundary of river-banks—before continuing his broader teaching on dharma and right conduct.