Shloka 10

Devanagari script

शूद्रो5हं नाधिकारो मे चातुराश्रम्यसेवने । इति विज्ञानमपरे नात्मन्युपदधत्युत,मैं शूद्र हूँ, अतः ब्रह्मचर्य आदि चारों आश्रमोंके सेवनका मुझे अधिकार नहीं है--शूद्र ऐसा सोचा करता है, परंतु साधु द्विजगण अपने भीतर छलको आश्रय नहीं देते हैं

Transliteration

śūdro ’haṃ nādhikāro me cāturāśramya-sevane | iti vijñānam apare nātmany upadadhaty uta ||

Translation

Bhīṣma berkata: “Ada orang berfikir, ‘Aku seorang Śūdra; maka aku tidak berhak mengamalkan empat āśrama (seperti brahmacarya).’ Namun, orang yang benar-benar berbudi dalam kalangan yang ‘dua kali lahir’ tidak menempatkan dalam diri mereka batasan diri yang bersifat memperdaya itu.”

Word by Word

शूद्रःa Shudra

अहम्I

नnot

अधिकारःentitlement/authority

मेof me / for me

चातुराश्रम्य-सेवनेin the practice/observance of the four āśramas

इतिthus (quotative)

विज्ञानम्notion/understanding

अपरेothers (some people)

नnot

आत्मनिin oneself

उपदधतिplace/assume/adopt

उतindeed/and (emphatic)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Śūdra

Dvija

Cāturāśramya (four āśramas)

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?

The verse critiques a defeatist or self-excluding belief—“I have no right to spiritual discipline”—and suggests that the virtuous do not take refuge in such inner excuses. Ethically, it points toward sincerity and responsibility in pursuing dharma rather than hiding behind identity-based pretexts.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma, he comments on how some people interpret social status as barring them from āśrama-based practices, while praising the truly good (here described as virtuous dvijas) for not entertaining such inner ‘chala’—a deceptive rationalization.