Shloka 47

गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow

Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode

Devanagari script

शरीरमिह सत्त्वेन न तस्य परिकृष्यते । ज्येष्ठमध्यावरं सत्त्वं तुल्यसत्त्वं प्रमोदते

Transliteration

śarīram iha sattvena na tasya parikṛṣyate | jyeṣṭha-madhyāvaraṁ sattvaṁ tulya-sattvaṁ pramodate ||

Translation

ភីෂ្មៈបានមានព្រះវាចា៖ ក្នុងលោកនេះ រាងកាយមនុស្សមិនអាចត្រូវបានទាញឲ្យផ្លាស់ប្តូរចេញពីស្វಭាវៈកំណើតរបស់ខ្លួន ដោយសារតែបានទទួល “បញ្ញាសាស្ត្រ” ឬទស្សនៈល្អប្រសើរទេ។ ស្វभावៈណាដែលបានបង្កើតរាងកាយ—ល្អ ធម្មតា ឬទាប—ស្វभावៈនោះឯងហាក់ដូចជាអ្វីដែលគាត់ពេញចិត្ត និងរីករាយជាមួយវា។

Word by Word

• {'śarīram': 'body

• embodied constitution', 'iha': 'here

• in this world', 'sattvena': 'by sattva

• by one’s disposition/temperament (also ‘purity’ in guṇa-theory, context-dependent)', 'na': 'not', 'tasya': 'of him/of that person', 'parikṛṣyate': 'is dragged away

• is forcibly altered/removed from its natural course', 'jyeṣṭha': 'superior

• excellent', 'madhya': 'middling

• moderate', 'avara': 'inferior

• lower', 'sattvam': 'nature

• disposition', 'tulya-sattvam': 'one of similar nature

• what matches one’s disposition', 'pramodate': 'rejoices

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Innate disposition (sattva/temperament) strongly conditions embodied life; mere acquisition of ‘learned’ or doctrinal understanding does not automatically uproot one’s natural tendencies. Ethical cultivation must therefore be gradual and practice-based, not only intellectual.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction discourse (Anuśāsana Parva), he explains to his listener that people naturally gravitate toward what matches their own temperament, and that the body-personality complex does not readily shift away from its inborn constitution simply through abstract knowledge.