Mahabharata 6.4.19 — Bhishma Parva, Adhyaya 4, Shloka 19

Bhīṣma Parva, Adhyāya 4 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Vyāsa Saṃvāda on Kāla and Jayalakṣaṇa

Signs of Victory

Devanagari script

एते ग्राम्या: समाख्याता: पशव: सप्त साधुभि: । एते वै पशवो राजन _ग्राम्यारण्याश्षतुर्दश

Transliteration

ete grāmyāḥ samākhyātāḥ paśavaḥ sapta sādhubhiḥ | ete vai paśavo rājan grāmyāraṇyāś caturdaśa ||

Translation

ສັນຊະຍະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ສັດເຈັດຊະນິດນີ້ ບັນດາຜູ້ຮູ້ໄດ້ກ່າວໄວ້ວ່າເປັນ ‘ສັດບ້ານ’ (ຢູ່ໃນຖິ່ນຖານມະນຸດ). ໂອ ພຣະມະຫາກະສັດ, ເມື່ອນັບຮວມທັງສັດບ້ານແລະສັດປ່າ ຈຶ່ງກ່າວວ່າມີທັງໝົດສິບສີ່».

Word by Word

• एते: these
• एते: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ग्राम्याः: domestic (village-dwelling)
• ग्राम्याः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ग्राम्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• समाख्याताः: declared / called
• समाख्याताः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-ख्या (धातु: ख्या)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural, क्त (past passive participle)

• पशवः: animals
• पशवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पशु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सप्त: seven
• सप्त: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural (indeclinable numeral used adjectivally)

• साधुभिः: by the good/wise men
• साधुभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: साधु
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• एते: these
• एते: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• पशवः: animals
• पशवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पशु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• ग्राम्य: domestic
• ग्राम्य: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ग्राम्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural (as first member of a dvandva)

• आरण्याः: wild/forest-dwelling
• आरण्याः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आरण्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural (as second member of a dvandva)

• चतुर्दश: fourteen
• चतुर्दश: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्दशन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural (indeclinable numeral used adjectivally)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• King (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied by address rājan)
• paśavaḥ (animals)
• grāmyāḥ (domestic animals)
• āraṇyāḥ (wild/forest animals)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents a traditional, ‘wise’ classification of animals into domestic (grāmya) and wild/forest-dwelling (āraṇya), emphasizing orderly categorization as part of learned discourse addressed to a king.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya continues a descriptive explanation to the king, stating that sages count seven animals as domestic and, when combined with wild ones, speak of a total of fourteen—framing the information as authoritative traditional knowledge.