Shloka 17

Devanagari script

शुचिं शुचिपदं हंसं तत्पदं परमेष्ठिनम्‌

Transliteration

śuciṁ śucipadaṁ haṁsaṁ tatpadaṁ parameṣṭhinam

Translation

ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—“ಪರಮ ಪವಿತ್ರನನ್ನು—ಪವಿತ್ರತೆಯೇ ಅವನ ಸ್ಥಾನವಾಗಿರುವವನನ್ನು ಧ್ಯಾನಿಸಿರಿ; ಆ ಹಂಸ-ಸ್ವರೂಪ, ಪರಮ ಆಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮಿಕ ‘ಹಂಸ’ನನ್ನು—ಅದೇ ಪರಮ ಪದ, ಪರಮೇಷ್ಠಿನ್ (ಅತ್ಯುನ್ನತ)ನ ಧಾಮ।”

Word by Word

शुचिम्pure

शुचिपदम्having a pure abode/footing

हंसम्the swan (Hamsa)

तत्पदम्having that as its abode/footing

परमेष्ठिनम्the Supreme Lord (Parameshthin)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Haṁsa

Parameṣṭhin

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?

The verse elevates purity (śuci) and the ‘pure abode’ (śucipada) as the spiritual orientation for dharma: peace and right living are grounded in inner cleansing and contemplation of the highest reality, symbolized as the haṁsa and named Parameṣṭhin.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the means to peace after the war. Here he uses compact, mantra-like epithets to direct attention toward meditative remembrance of the supreme, presenting the highest goal as purity and the exalted ‘abode’ of Parameṣṭhin.