Shloka 5

Umā–Maheśvara-saṃvāda: Varṇa-bhraṃśa, Ācāra (Vṛtta), and Karmic Ascent/Decline

Devanagari script

अश्वत्थं रोचनां गां च पूजयेद्‌ यो नर: सदा

Transliteration

aśvatthaṃ rocanāṃ gāṃ ca pūjayed yo naraḥ sadā

Translation

ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഏതു മനുഷ്യൻ എന്നും അശ്വത്ഥവൃക്ഷത്തെയും, രോചനയെയും, ഗാവിനെയും ഭക്തിപൂർവ്വം പൂജിക്കുന്നുവോ.

Word by Word

अश्वत्थम्the aśvattha (sacred fig tree)

रोचनाम्Rocanā (a sacred substance/ointment; also a proper name)

गाम्a cow

चand

पूजयेत्should worship/honor

यःwho

नरःa man

सदाalways

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

aśvattha (sacred fig tree)

rocanā

cow (go)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Regular reverence toward traditionally sacred supports of life and auspiciousness—especially the cow and the aśvattha—constitutes a practical expression of dharma, cultivating merit through consistent honoring of what sustains and sanctifies.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma continues advising on dharma by prescribing specific objects of veneration; here he states that a person who continually honors the aśvattha, rocanā, and the cow follows a dharmic, merit-producing practice.