Shloka 30

Devanagari script

ऐश्वर्याच्च्यावितान्‌ दृष्टवा कालेन महता नृप । महतां भूतसंघानां श्रुत्वा नाशं च पार्थिव

Transliteration

aiśvaryāccyāvitān dṛṣṭvā kālena mahatā nṛpa | mahatāṁ bhūtasaṅghānāṁ śrutvā nāśaṁ ca pārthiva ||

Translation

ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ಓ ರಾಜನೇ! ದೀರ್ಘಕಾಲದ ಪ್ರವಾಹದಲ್ಲಿ ಜನರು ಐಶ್ವರ್ಯದಿಂದ ಚ್ಯುತರಾಗುವುದನ್ನು ಕಂಡು, ಮಹಾನ್ ಜೀವಸಮೂಹಗಳ ನಾಶದ ವಾರ್ತೆ ಕೇಳಿ, ಲೋಕೀಯ ಅಧಿಕಾರದ ಅಸ್ಥಿರತೆಯನ್ನು ಅರಿಯಬೇಕು; ಭಾಗ್ಯದ ಗರ್ವವಲ್ಲ, ಧರ್ಮದಲ್ಲಿನ ಸ್ಥೈರ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಮನಸ್ಸನ್ನು ನೆಲೆಗೊಳಿಸಬೇಕು।

Word by Word

ऐश्वर्यात्from sovereignty/power

च्यावितान्fallen/dislodged (from)

दृष्ट्वाhaving seen

कालेनby Time

महताgreat/mighty

नृपO king

महताम्of great (ones)

भूत-संघानाम्of multitudes of beings

श्रुत्वाhaving heard

नाशम्destruction

चand

पार्थिवO ruler/king

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

King (Yudhishthira implied)

Time (Kāla)

Hosts of beings (bhūtasaṅgha)

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?

Worldly prosperity and authority are unstable: time inevitably brings decline and destruction. Recognizing this, a ruler should cultivate humility, restraint, and commitment to dharma rather than relying on fortune.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs the king (addressed as nṛpa/pārthiva). Here he points to observed and heard examples of the fall of the powerful and the ruin of great multitudes over long time, setting a reflective, ethical frame for counsel on right conduct.