Shloka 2

अध्याय २२० — बलिवासवसंवादः

Bali–Vāsava Dialogue on Kāla and Steadfastness

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच दममेव प्रशंसन्ति वृद्धा: श्रुतिसमाधय: । सर्वेषामेव वर्णानां ब्राह्मणस्य विशेषत:,भीष्मजीने कहा--युधिष्ठिर! मनोयोगपूर्वक वेदार्थका विचार करनेवाले वृद्ध पुरुष सामान्यतः सभी वर्णोके लिये और विशेषतः: ब्राह्मणके लिये मन और इन्द्रियोंके संयमरूप “दम' की ही प्रशंसा करते हैं

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | damam eva praśaṃsanti vṛddhāḥ śruti-samādhayaḥ | sarveṣām eva varṇānāṃ brāhmaṇasya viśeṣataḥ ||

Translation

ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു— “യുധിഷ്ഠിരാ! ശ്രുതിയുടെ സ്ഥിരനിഗമനങ്ങളിൽ ഉറച്ചുനിൽക്കുന്ന വൃദ്ധർ ‘ദമം’—അഥവാ മനസ്സിന്റെയും ഇന്ദ്രിയങ്ങളുടെയും സംയമം—അതിനെ മാത്രമാണ് പ്രശംസിക്കുന്നത്. അത് എല്ലാ വർണങ്ങൾക്കും, പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് ബ്രാഹ്മണനിക്കും, പരമസാധനമാണെന്ന് അവർ പറയുന്നു.”

Word by Word

• {'damam (dama)': 'self-restraint

• control of the mind and senses', 'eva': 'alone

• precisely', 'praśaṃsanti': 'they praise

• they commend', 'vṛddhāḥ': 'elders

• mature and authoritative persons', 'śruti': 'Vedic revelation

• the Vedas', 'samādhayaḥ': 'settled conclusions

• firmly established understandings (of doctrine)', 'sarveṣām': 'of all', 'varṇānām': 'of the varṇas

• social orders/classes', 'brāhmaṇasya': 'of the Brahmin', 'viśeṣataḥ': 'especially

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Yudhiṣṭhira (implied addressee)
• vṛddhāḥ (elders)
• śruti (the Veda)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That dama—self-restraint, especially control of mind and senses—is universally praised as a foundational virtue for dharma, and is particularly essential for a Brahmin whose life is oriented toward study, purity, and spiritual discernment.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma continues his ethical teaching by citing the view of venerable, Veda-grounded elders: among virtues, they single out self-control as paramount for all, with special emphasis on Brahmins.