Shloka 54

हंस–साध्यसंवादः, वाक्-निग्रहः, महाकुल-लक्षणम्, शान्ति-उपायः

Hamsa–Sādhya Dialogue; Restraint of Speech; Marks of Noble Lineage; Means to Peace

Devanagari script

यत्‌ त्वस्य सहजं राजन पितृपैतामहं बलम्‌ । अभिजातबलं नाम तच्चतुर्थ बल॑ स्मृतम्‌

Transliteration

yat tv asya sahajaṃ rājan pitṛpaitāmahaṃ balam | abhijātabalaṃ nāma tac caturthaṃ balaṃ smṛtam ||

Translation

କିନ୍ତୁ ହେ ରାଜନ୍! ଯେ ବଳ ମନୁଷ୍ୟର ସହଜ—ପିତା ଓ ପିତାମହମାନଙ୍କଠାରୁ ପ୍ରାପ୍ତ, ବଂଶଗତ ପରାକ୍ରମ—ତାହା ‘ଅଭିଜାତ-ବଳ’ ବୋଲି କୁହାଯାଏ; ସେହିଟି ଚତୁର୍ଥ ବଳ ଭାବେ ସ୍ମୃତ।

Word by Word

• यत्: which/that
• यत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• अस्य: of him/this
• अस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• सहजम्: inborn, innate
• सहजम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहज
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• पितृ: of the father
• पितृ: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• पैतामहम्: ancestral (from the grandfather)
• पैतामहम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पैतामह
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• बलम्: strength, power
• बलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: बल
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• अभिजातबलम्: noble-born strength (strength due to high birth)
• अभिजातबलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अभिजातबल
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• नाम: by name, called
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नामन्

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• चतुर्थम्: fourth
• चतुर्थम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्थ
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• बलम्: strength
• बलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: बल
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• स्मृतम्: is considered/remembered
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ
• Form: क्त, Passive (past participle), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vidura
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Vidura classifies ‘inborn, ancestral strength’—the power one possesses by birth and lineage—as a distinct category of strength, reminding a ruler to account for inherited advantages and their ethical use in governance and decision-making.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vidura’s counsel to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra during the Udyoga Parva, he is analyzing different sources of power/strength relevant to statecraft and impending conflict, here identifying the fourth as the innate, hereditary strength coming from one’s paternal and ancestral line.