Shloka 9

Puruṣaikatva-vyākhyāna: The One Virāṭ Puruṣa and the Many ‘Puruṣas’

Rudra–Brahmā Saṃvāda

Devanagari script

कथंस्विदन्यथा ब्रूयादेष वाक्‍्यं महान्‌ वसु: । एवं ते संविदं कृत्वा विबुधा ऋषयस्तथा

Transliteration

kathaṃ svid anyathā brūyād eṣa vākyaṃ mahān vasuḥ | evaṃ te saṃvidaṃ kṛtvā vibudhā ṛṣayas tathā ||

Translation

ビーシュマは言った。「この偉大なるヴァスが、どうしてこの言葉と異なることを語れようか。かくして互いに合意に達すると、賢きリシたちもまた同じように語り、同じように振る舞った。」

Word by Word

कथम्how?

स्वित्indeed? (interrogative particle)

अन्यथाotherwise

ब्रूयात्would say / should say

एषःthis (man)

वाक्यम्speech, statement

महान्great

वसुःVasu (proper name/class of deity)

एवम्thus, in this way

तेof you / your

संविदम्agreement, understanding

कृत्वाhaving made / having done

विबुधाःthe wise / the learned

ऋषयःsages

तथाso, likewise

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Vasu (mahān vasuḥ)

Ṛ

Ṛṣis (sages)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores ethical reliability: a truly great and virtuous authority (here, the ‘great Vasu’) is expected to speak in alignment with truth and propriety, and the sages reinforce this through shared agreement (saṃvid), suggesting that dharmic conclusions are strengthened by wise consensus.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma comments on a statement attributed to a ‘great Vasu,’ asserting that such a figure would not speak differently from what is right. He adds that the sages, having formed a mutual understanding, likewise concurred—indicating a settled decision or doctrinal conclusion endorsed by the wise.