Shloka 36
भीष्मस्वप्न-स्मृत्युपाख्यानम् | Bhīṣma’s Dream-Linked Recollection of the Paraśurāma Combat
नदी भविष्यसि शुभे कुटिला वार्षिकोदका । दुस्तीर्था न तु विज्ञेया वार्षिकी नाष्टमासिकी
nadī bhaviṣyasi śubhe kuṭilā vārṣikodakā | dustīrthā na tu vijñeyā vārṣikī nāṣṭamāsikī ||
Rāma berkata: “Wahai yang bertuah, engkau akan menjadi sebuah sungai—berliku-liku alirannya dan hanya berisi air hujan. Engkau akan sukar diseberangi, dan tidak patut dikenal sebagai aliran yang tetap dan dapat diandalkan—sekadar sungai bermusim, bukan yang mengalir sepanjang lapan bulan.”
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral causality expressed through authoritative speech: a being’s future condition can become diminished—crooked, seasonal, and difficult for others—rather than steady and beneficial. It implicitly values reliability, clarity, and serviceability (like a perennial, fordable river) as ethical ideals.
Rama addresses someone (vocative ‘śubhe’) and declares a transformation into a river characterized by winding course and rain-fed, seasonal water, with difficult crossings. The tone is that of a pronouncement/curse-like decree describing the nature and limitations of the future river.