Shloka 12

Adhyāya 174: Karma as an inescapable companion (कर्मानुगमन-उपदेश)

Devanagari script

तस्य वाक्‍्यं समादाय वासव: पुरुषर्षभ

Transliteration

tasya vākyaṃ samādāya vāsavaḥ puruṣarṣabha

Translation

അവന്റെ വാക്ക് സ്വീകരിച്ച് വാസവൻ (ഇന്ദ്രൻ), ഹേ പുരുഷശ്രേഷ്ഠാ, (അതനുസരിച്ച്) പ്രവർത്തിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him/that
• तस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: masculine/neuter, genitive, singular

• वाक्यम्: speech, words
• वाक्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाक्य
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• समादाय: having taken/accepted
• समादाय: Kriya-visheshaṇa
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-दा
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), parasmaipada (usage), non-finite

• वासवः: Vāsava (Indra)
• वासवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासव
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• पुरुषर्षभ: O bull among men (best of men)
• पुरुषर्षभ: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष-ऋषभ
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Vāsava (Indra)
• puruṣarṣabha (honorific addressee, typically Yudhiṣṭhira in Śānti Parva)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical weight of well-spoken counsel: even a figure of supreme authority (Indra) is portrayed as ‘accepting’ another’s words, implying that dharmic guidance should be received with humility and then enacted.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma continues a narrated episode in which Indra (Vāsava), after hearing someone’s statement, accepts it and proceeds—marking a transition from advice or dialogue to consequent action.