Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 5

अहिंसा-आत्मौपम्य-उपदेशः | Instruction on Ahiṃsā and Self-Comparison Ethics

Devanagari script

नाभिं भाद्रपदे विद्याद्‌ रेवत्यामक्षिमण्डलम्‌ | पृष्ठमेव धनिष्ठासु अनुराधोत्तरास्तथा

Transliteration

Bhīṣma uvāca — Nābhiṃ bhādrapade vidyād Revatyām akṣimaṇḍalam | Pṛṣṭham eva Dhaniṣṭhāsu Anurādhottarās tathā ||

Translation

ພີດສະມະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ຈົ່ງຮູ້ວ່າ ສະດື (navel) ຢູ່ໃນ (Pūrva/ Uttara-)Bhādrapadā; ວົງຕາຢູ່ໃນ Revatī; ແລະ ຫຼັງຢູ່ໃນ Dhaniṣṭhā. ທຳນອງດຽວກັນ ຈົ່ງເຂົ້າໃຈວ່າ Anurādhā ແລະ ‘Uttarā’ ຖືກວາງໄວ້ຕາມຄວາມເໝາະສົມ»។

Word by Word

• नाभिम्: navel
• नाभिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाभि
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• भाद्रपदे: in (the nakshatra/month) Bhādrapada
• भाद्रपदे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाद्रपद
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• विद्यात्: should know/should identify
• विद्यात्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• रेवत्याम्: in Revatī
• रेवत्याम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रेवती
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• अक्षिमण्डलम्: the eye-region/orb (circle of the eye)
• अक्षिमण्डलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक्षि-मण्डल
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• पृष्ठम्: back
• पृष्ठम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृष्ठ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• धनिष्ठासु: in (the nakshatra) Dhaniṣṭhā (lit. among Dhaniṣṭhās)
• धनिष्ठासु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनिष्ठा
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Plural

• अनुराधा: Anurādhā
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुराधा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• उत्तराः: the Uttaras (Uttaraphalgunī, Uttarāṣāḍhā, Uttarabhādrapadā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तर
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• तथा: likewise/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Bhādrapadā (Pūrvabhādrapadā / Uttarabhādrapadā)
• Revatī
• Dhaniṣṭhā
• Anurādhā
• Uttarā (Uttara-nakṣatra group)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches a traditional correspondence between bodily regions (navel, eyes, back) and specific nakṣatras, reflecting a dharmic-ritual worldview in which the human body is read as a microcosm aligned with cosmic order.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and allied traditional sciences; here he enumerates astral correspondences, assigning particular nakṣatras to parts of the body as part of a larger explanatory scheme.