Shloka 9

Gautama’s Flight, the Enchanted Grove, and the Arrival of Rājadharma

Nāḍījaṅgha

Devanagari script

त्यागो ध्यानमथार्यत्वं धृतिश्व॒ सततं स्थिरा । अहिंसा चैव राजेन्द्र सत्याकारास्त्रयोदश,राजेन्द्र! सत्य, समता, दम, मत्सरताका अभाव, क्षमा, लज्जा, तितिक्षा (सहनशीलता), अनसूया, त्याग, परमात्माका ध्यान, आर्यता (श्रेष्ठ आचरण), निरन्तर स्थिर रहनेवाली धृति (धैर्य) तथा अहिंसा--ये तेरह सत्यके ही स्वरूप हैं, इसमें संशय नहीं है

Transliteration

tyāgo dhyānam athāryatvaṃ dhṛtiś ca satataṃ sthirā | ahiṃsā caiva rājendra satyākārās trayodaśa ||

Translation

ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു—രാജേന്ദ്രാ, ത്യാഗം, (പരമാത്മാവിന്റെ) ധ്യാനം, ആര്യത്വം, സദാ സ്ഥിരമായ ധൃതി, അഹിംസ—ഇവ (മുമ്പ് പറഞ്ഞ ഗുണങ്ങളോടൊപ്പം) സത്യത്തിന്റെ പതിമൂന്ന് രൂപങ്ങളാണ്।

Word by Word

• {'tyāgaḥ': 'renunciation

• letting go of possessiveness and selfish claim', 'dhyānam': 'meditation

• sustained contemplative attention (especially on the Self/Ātman)', 'āryatvam': 'nobility

• refined and righteous conduct befitting the virtuous (ārya)', 'dhṛtiḥ': 'fortitude

• steadfast courage and inner firmness', 'satataṃ': 'always

• continuously', 'sthirā': 'steady

• unshaken, stable', 'ahiṃsā': 'non-violence

• non-injury in thought, word, and deed', 'rājendra': 'O best of kings

• epithet addressing the king (Yudhiṣṭhira)', 'satyākārāḥ': 'forms/embodiments of truth

• modes in which satya manifests', 'trayodaśa': 'thirteen'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Yudhiṣṭhira (addressed as rājendra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Truth (satya) is presented as a comprehensive moral reality, not only truthful speech. It manifests as a cluster of virtues—here highlighted as renunciation, meditation, noble conduct, steady fortitude, and non-violence—showing that living truthfully means embodying disciplined, harmless, and steadfast character.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma, lying on the bed of arrows, continues advising King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. In this verse he enumerates virtues and declares them to be ‘forms of Truth,’ integrating ethical qualities into a single ideal for righteous kingship and personal conduct.