Shloka 93

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच तथा धर्मविरोधेन प्रियमिथ्याभिधायिना । श्मशानवासिना नित्यं रात्रि मृगयता नूप,भीष्मजीने कहा--राजन्‌! वह सियार सदा श्मशान भूमिमें ही निवास करता था और अपना काम बनानेके लिये रात्रिकालकी प्रतीक्षा कर रहा था; अतः उसने धर्मविरोधी, मिथ्या तथा अमृततुल्य वचन कहकर उस बालकके बन्धु-बान्धवोंको बीचमें ही अटका दिया। वे न जा पाते थे और न रह पाते थे, अन्तमें उन्हें ठहर जाना पड़ा

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca tathā dharmavirodhena priyamithyābhidhāyinā | śmaśānavāsinā nityaṁ rātri mṛgayatā nṛpa ||

Translation

Bhishma berkata: “Wahai raja, makhluk itu—yang sentiasa tinggal di tanah pembakaran mayat—menunggu datangnya malam untuk melaksanakan maksudnya. Maka, dengan kata-kata yang menyenangkan namun dusta, dan bertentangan dengan dharma, ia menahan kaum kerabat budak itu dalam keraguan dan kelengahan. Mereka tidak mampu mara, dan juga tidak dapat tinggal dengan tenteram; akhirnya mereka terpaksa berhenti.”

Word by Word

भीष्मःBhishma

उवाचsaid

तथाthus; in that manner

धर्म-विरोधेनby opposition to dharma; by unrighteousness

प्रिय-मिथ्या-अभिधायिनाby one who speaks pleasing falsehood

श्मशान-वासिनाby a dweller in the cremation-ground

नित्यम्always

रात्रिम्night

मृगयताby one who hunts; by a hunter

नृपO king

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

King (Yudhishthira, addressed as nṛpa)

cremation-ground (śmaśāna)

night (rātri)

the boy (implied in the narrative context)

the boy’s kinsmen/relatives (implied in the narrative context)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Speech that is pleasant but false—and especially speech opposed to dharma—can become a tool of harm. The verse warns that flattering deception can paralyze right action by creating hesitation and confusion, so ethical speech must be aligned with dharma, not merely with what sounds agreeable.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma describes a deceitful being (in the surrounding story, a jackal-like figure) who lives near the cremation-ground and waits for night to further its scheme. By uttering sweet-sounding lies contrary to dharma, it causes the boy’s relatives to become stuck—unable to decide whether to proceed or withdraw—until they end up remaining there.