Shloka 13

तीर्थवंशोपदेशः

Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters

Devanagari script

श्वित्री क्लीबश्व कुछ्ठी च तथा यक्ष्महतश्न यः । अपस्मारी च यश्चान्धो राजन्‌ नाहन्ति केतनम्‌

Transliteration

śvitrī klībaś ca kuṣṭhī ca tathā yakṣma-hataś ca yaḥ | apasmārī ca yaś cāndho rājan nāhanti ketanam ||

Translation

ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു—രാജാവേ! ശ്വേതദാഗം (ശ്വിത്രി) ഉള്ളവർ, നപുംസകർ, കുഷ്ഠരോഗികൾ, രാജയക്ഷ്മ (ക്ഷയം) ബാധിതർ, അപസ്മാരം (മൃഗി) ഉള്ളവർ, അന്ധർ—ഇവർ ശ്രാദ്ധകർമ്മത്തിൽ ക്ഷണിക്കപ്പെടാൻ യോഗ്യരല്ല।

Word by Word

• श्वित्री: a person with white patches (leucoderma)
• श्वित्री: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वित्री
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• क्लीबः: an impotent/eunuch
• क्लीबः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्लीब
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• कुष्ठी: a leper
• कुष्ठी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुष्ठिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

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

• यक्ष्महतः: one afflicted/struck by consumption (yakṣmā)
• यक्ष्महतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यक्ष्महत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अपस्मारी: one with epilepsy
• अपस्मारी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपस्मारिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अन्धः: blind
• अन्धः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• आहन्ति: they strike/kill; (here) they do not partake/are not fit
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• केतनम्: the invitation/summons (to śrāddha); the appointed rite/seat (contextual)
• केतनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: केतन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• rājan (the King, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse states a traditional dharma-śāstric rule: certain severe illnesses or impairments are treated as disqualifications for being invited as recipients in the śrāddha rite, emphasizing ritual eligibility norms rather than personal worth.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, including detailed rules for ancestral rites (śrāddha). Here he lists categories of persons who, according to the tradition being cited, should not be invited to the śrāddha meal.