Mahabharata 6.4.13 — Bhishma Parva, Adhyaya 4, Shloka 13

Bhīṣma Parva, Adhyāya 4 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Vyāsa Saṃvāda on Kāla and Jayalakṣaṇa

Signs of Victory

Devanagari script

ग्राम्याणां पुरुषा: श्रेष्ठा: सिंहाश्वारण्यवासिनाम्‌ | सर्वेषामेव भूतानामन्योन्येनोपजीवनम्‌

Transliteration

grāmyāṇāṃ puruṣāḥ śreṣṭhāḥ siṃhāśvārṇyavāsinām | sarveṣām eva bhūtānām anyonyenopajīvanam ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Dalam kalangan yang tinggal di desa, manusia adalah yang utama; dan dalam kalangan binatang liar yang mendiami rimba, singa adalah yang utama. Sesungguhnya, kelangsungan hidup semua makhluk bergantung pada saling membantu—masing-masing hidup dengan pertolongan yang lain.”

Word by Word

• ग्राम्याणाम्: of village(-dwelling beings)
• ग्राम्याणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ग्राम्य
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• पुरुषाः: men/humans
• पुरुषाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• श्रेष्ठाः: are the best
• श्रेष्ठाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सिंहाः: lions
• सिंहाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिंह
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• अश्व: horse
• अश्व: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• आरण्यवासिनाम्: of forest-dwellers
• आरण्यवासिनाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आरण्यवासिन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• सर्वेषाम्: of all
• सर्वेषाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• एव: indeed/only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• भूतानाम्: of living beings/creatures
• भूतानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• अन्योन्येन: by one another / mutually
• अन्योन्येन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्योन्य
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• उपजीवनम्: subsistence/livelihood
• उपजीवनम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपजीवन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• human beings (puruṣāḥ)
• lion (siṃha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

All beings sustain themselves through mutual dependence; life is maintained by cooperation and interconnected support, which frames an ethical vision of society and nature.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya offers a general observation about hierarchy and excellence (humans among village-dwellers, the lion among forest creatures) and then draws a broader principle: the world functions through reciprocal support among living beings.