Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 31

Adhyāya 64: Dāna-prakāra—Suvarṇa, Pānīya-dāna, Ghṛta-dāna, and Upakaraṇa-dāna

Utility Gifts

Devanagari script

क्रोशन्त्यो यस्य वै राष्ट्रादू हयन्ते तरसा स्त्रिय: । क्रोशतां पतिपुत्राणां मृतोड्सौ न च जीवति

Transliteration

krośantyo yasya vai rāṣṭrād ūhayante tarasā striyaḥ | krośatāṃ pati-putrāṇāṃ mṛto 'sau na ca jīvati ||

Translation

ਭੀਸ਼ਮ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਜਿਸ ਦੇ ਰਾਜ ਵਿੱਚ ਰੋਂਦੀਆਂ-ਚੀਕਦੀਆਂ ਇਸਤ੍ਰੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਜ਼ਬਰਦਸਤੀ ਚੁੱਕ ਲਿਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੋਵੇ ਅਤੇ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਪਤੀ ਤੇ ਪੁੱਤਰ ਹਾਹਾਕਾਰ ਕਰਦੇ ਰਹਿ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹੋਣ—ਉਹ ਰਾਜਾ ਨਹੀਂ, ਮੁਰਦਾ ਹੈ। ਸਾਹ ਲੈਂਦਾ ਹੋਇਆ ਵੀ ਉਹ ਸੱਚਮੁੱਚ ਜੀਉਂਦਾ ਨਹੀਂ, ਕਿਉਂਕਿ ਰੱਖਿਆ ਕਰਨੀ ਹੀ ਰਾਜਧਰਮ ਦਾ ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਵੱਡਾ ਫ਼ਰਜ਼ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• क्रोशन्त्यः: crying, wailing
• क्रोशन्त्यः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्रुश् (धातु) → क्रोशन्ती (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन, शतृ (वर्तमान कृदन्त)

• यस्य: whose
• यस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• राष्ट्रात्: from (his) kingdom
• राष्ट्रात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राष्ट्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

• उदूहयन्ते: are carried off / abducted
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-ऊह् (धातु) (उदूह् = बलात् नयति/अपहरति इत्यर्थे)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम, बहुवचन

• तरसा: by force, violently
• तरसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• स्त्रियः: women
• स्त्रियः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• क्रोशताम्: of (those) crying
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्रुश् (धातु) → क्रोशत् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन, शतृ (वर्तमान कृदन्त)

• पति-पुत्राणाम्: of husbands and sons
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति (प्रातिपदिक) + पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• मृतः: dead
• मृतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √मृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन, क्त (भूतकृदन्त)

• असौ: that man (he)
• असौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• जीवति: lives
• Type: Verb
• Root: जीव् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथम, एकवचन

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• rāṣṭra (kingdom/realm)
• striyaḥ (women)
• pati (husbands)
• putra (sons)
• rājā (king, implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler’s legitimacy rests on protection: if women are abducted by force within his realm and families are left helpless, he has failed rājadharma. Such a ruler is condemned as ‘dead while living’ because his moral purpose as king has collapsed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, instructing on duties of kingship in the Anuśāsana Parva, gives a sharp ethical criterion: a kingdom where women are seized and their husbands and sons can only cry out reflects the ruler’s inability or unwillingness to protect; therefore he is unworthy of the title ‘king’.