Shloka 47

Treasury Security, Protection of Informants, and the Kalakavṛkṣīya Exemplum (Śānti Parva 83)

Devanagari script

आशीविषै: परिवृतः कूपस्त्वमसि पार्थिव । दुर्गतीर्था बृहत्कूला कारीरा वेत्रसंयुता

Transliteration

āśīviṣaiḥ parivṛtaḥ kūpas tvam asi pārthiva | durgatīrthā bṛhatkūlā kārīrā vetra-saṁyutā ||

Translation

ビーシュマは言った。「王よ、汝は毒蛇に取り巻かれた井戸のようだ――近づき難く、足取りは危うく欺きに満ち、岸は広いが険しく、棘ある葦や茂った茎に覆われている。益を求めて近づく者は、庇護よりも危難に遭うであろう。」

Word by Word

आशीविषैःby/with venomous snakes

परिवृतःsurrounded/encircled

कूपःa well

त्वम्you

असिare

पार्थिवO king

दुर्गतीर्थाhaving difficult fords/approaches

बृहत्कूलाhaving great/high banks

कारीराa kārīra-thicket (a kind of shrub/reed)

वेत्रसंयुताprovided/filled with canes (vetra)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

pārthiva (the king addressed)

kūpa (well)

āśīviṣa (venomous serpents)

kārīra (thorny scrub/reeds)

vetra (cane/reed)

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?

A ruler (or any powerful person) should be approachable and safe for those seeking help; when one is surrounded by ‘poison’—anger, greed, cruelty, or corrupt associates—people who come near are harmed. Ethical authority requires inner restraint and a protective, not predatory, presence.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king on dharma and proper conduct. Here he uses a sharp metaphor: the king is compared to a well that ought to provide relief, yet is rendered dangerous by serpents and obstructing growth—signaling that the king’s current disposition or environment makes seeking his aid perilous.