Shloka 4

Devanagari script

स तु रत्नाकरवतीं सद्दीपां सागराम्बराम्‌ । शशास पृथिवीं सर्वा हैहय: सत्यविक्रम:

Transliteration

sa tu ratnākara-vatīṁ sad-dīpāṁ sāgarāmbarām | śaśāsa pṛthivīṁ sarvāṁ haihayaḥ satya-vikramaḥ ||

Translation

ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಆ ಹೈಹಯ ವಂಶದ ಸತ್ಯವಿಕ್ರಮಿ ರಾಜನು ರತ್ನಾಕರಗಳಿಂದ ಸಮೃದ್ಧವಾದ, ದ್ವೀಪಗಳೊಡನೆ ಇರುವ, ಸಾಗರವನ್ನು ವಸ್ತ್ರದಂತೆ ಧರಿಸಿದ ಸಮಸ್ತ ಭೂಮಿಯನ್ನು ಆಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದನು।

Word by Word

• {'sa tu': 'but he

• indeed that one', 'ratnākara-vatīm': 'abounding in oceans (lit. ‘having jewel-mines’ = the sea)', 'sad-dīpām': 'with good/noble islands

• possessing islands', 'sāgara-āmbarām': 'having the ocean as its garment

• ocean-clad', 'pṛthivīm': 'the earth', 'sarvām': 'entire

• all', 'śaśāsa': 'ruled

• governed', 'haihayaḥ': 'the Haihaya (king/lineage member)', 'satya-vikramaḥ': 'of true valor

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Haihaya (dynasty/king)
• Kartavīrya Arjuna
• Māhiṣmatī
• Pṛthivī (the earth)
• Ratnākara (ocean/sea)
• Sāgara (sea)
• Dvīpa (islands)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames idealized kingship: a ruler’s legitimacy rests on effective governance and steadfast, truthful valor (satya-vikrama), suggesting that power is ethically evaluated by reliability, order, and rightful sovereignty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma begins an ancient account describing the Haihaya ruler Kartavīrya Arjuna of Māhiṣmatī, portraying him as a mighty sovereign who ruled the whole earth—poetically described as ocean-clad and island-filled.