Shloka 4

Devanagari script

स तु रत्नाकरवतीं सद्दीपां सागराम्बराम्‌ । शशास पृथिवीं सर्वा हैहय: सत्यविक्रम:

Transliteration

sa tu ratnākara-vatīṁ sad-dīpāṁ sāgarāmbarām | śaśāsa pṛthivīṁ sarvāṁ haihayaḥ satya-vikramaḥ ||

Translation

ਭੀਸ਼ਮ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ—ਉਹ ਹੈਹਯ ਵੰਸ਼ ਦਾ ਸੱਚੇ ਪਰਾਕ੍ਰਮ ਵਾਲਾ ਰਾਜਾ ਰਤਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਸਮੁੰਦਰਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਭਰਪੂਰ, ਦੀਪਾਂ ਸਮੇਤ, ਅਤੇ ਸਮੁੰਦਰ ਨੂੰ ਵਸਤ੍ਰ ਵਾਂਗ ਧਾਰਨ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੀ ਸਮੂਹ ਧਰਤੀ ਦਾ ਸ਼ਾਸਨ ਕਰਦਾ ਸੀ।

Word by Word

• {'sa tu': 'but he

• indeed that one', 'ratnākara-vatīm': 'abounding in oceans (lit. ‘having jewel-mines’ = the sea)', 'sad-dīpām': 'with good/noble islands

• possessing islands', 'sāgara-āmbarām': 'having the ocean as its garment

• ocean-clad', 'pṛthivīm': 'the earth', 'sarvām': 'entire

• all', 'śaśāsa': 'ruled

• governed', 'haihayaḥ': 'the Haihaya (king/lineage member)', 'satya-vikramaḥ': 'of true valor

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Haihaya (dynasty/king)
• Kartavīrya Arjuna
• Māhiṣmatī
• Pṛthivī (the earth)
• Ratnākara (ocean/sea)
• Sāgara (sea)
• Dvīpa (islands)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames idealized kingship: a ruler’s legitimacy rests on effective governance and steadfast, truthful valor (satya-vikrama), suggesting that power is ethically evaluated by reliability, order, and rightful sovereignty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma begins an ancient account describing the Haihaya ruler Kartavīrya Arjuna of Māhiṣmatī, portraying him as a mighty sovereign who ruled the whole earth—poetically described as ocean-clad and island-filled.