Shloka 5

Devanagari script

सा तस्मै विधिवत्‌ पूजां चक्रे धर्मपरायणा । स्वागतेनागतं कृत्वा कि करोमीति चाब्रवीत्‌,उस धर्मपरायणा सतीने ब्राह्मणका विधिपूर्वक पूजन किया और स्वागत करते हुए कहा--'ब्राह्मणदेव! आज्ञा दीजिये, मैं आपकी क्‍या सेवा करूँ?”

Transliteration

sā tasmai vidhivat pūjāṃ cakre dharmaparāyaṇā | svāgatena āgataṃ kṛtvā kiṃ karomīti cābravīt ||

Translation

法（ダルマ）に帰依する彼女は、作法どおりに供養を行った。しかるべきもてなしで客を迎えると、こう言った。「尊きブラーフマナよ、お命じください。いかなる奉仕をいたしましょうか。」

Word by Word

साshe

तस्मैto him

विधिवत्according to rule; duly

पूजाम्worship; honoring

चक्रेdid; performed

धर्मपरायणाdevoted to dharma

स्वागतेनwith welcome; by welcoming

आगतम्the arrived one; the guest who came

कृत्वाhaving done; having made

किम्what

करोमिdo I do; shall I do

इतिthus; saying

चand

अब्रवीत्said; spoke

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

bhīṣma (speaker)

a dharma-devoted woman (unnamed in this verse)

brāhmaṇa (guest)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights atithi-dharma: a righteous person honors a guest properly (vidhivat pūjā) and offers service with humility, treating the guest—especially a brāhmaṇa—as worthy of reverence and care.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s narration, a dharma-minded woman receives an arriving brāhmaṇa, performs the customary worship and welcome, and then asks what she should do to serve him.