Shloka 18

Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)

Devanagari script

उपशुष्कजलस्थाया विनिवृत्तसभाप्रपा । निवृत्तयज्ञस्वाध्याया निर्वषट्कारमज्ला

Transliteration

upaśuṣka-jala-sthāyā vinivṛtta-sabhā-prapā | nivṛtta-yajña-svādhyāyā nirvaṣaṭkāram aṅgalā ||

Translation

ਭੀਸ਼ਮ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਧਰਤੀ ਦੇ ਜਲ-ਸਰੋਤ ਸੁੱਕ ਗਏ ਸਨ; ਸਭਾ-ਘਰ ਅਤੇ ਰਾਹਗੀਰਾਂ ਲਈ ਪਾਣੀ ਦੇ ਛਬੀਲ-ਥਾਂ ਉਜੜ ਕੇ ਬੇਕਾਰ ਹੋ ਗਏ ਸਨ। ਯੱਗ ਅਤੇ ਵੇਦ-ਅਧਿਐਨ ਮੁੱਕ ਗਏ; ਆਹੁਤੀ ਵਿੱਚ ‘ਵਸ਼ਟ’ ਦੀ ਧੁਨੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਰਹੀ; ਮੰਗਲ ਕਰਮ ਅਤੇ ਤਿਉਹਾਰ-ਉਤਸਵ ਲੁਪਤ ਹੋ ਗਏ। ਪਾਣੀ ਦੀ ਘਾਟ ਨਾਲ ਖੇਤੀ ਅਤੇ ਗੋ-ਰੱਖਿਆ ਢਹਿ ਗਈ; ਹਾਟ-ਬਾਜ਼ਾਰ ਬੰਦ ਹੋ ਗਏ; ਯੂਪ-ਸਤੰਭ ਨਿਸ਼ਪ੍ਰਯੋਜਨ ਰਹਿ ਗਏ ਅਤੇ ਵੱਡੇ ਮਹੋਤਸਵ ਨਸ਼ਟ ਹੋ ਗਏ।

Word by Word

• उपशुष्क: dried up
• उपशुष्क: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उप-शुष्क (शुष्क)
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• जलस्थाया: in the water-reservoir/pond (lit. water-place)
• जलस्थाया: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: जलस्था
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• विनिवृत्त: ceased, stopped
• विनिवृत्त: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-नि-√वृत् (विनिवृत्त)
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• सभाप्रपा: public hall and water-shed/drinking-fountain (charity water-station)
• सभाप्रपा: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सभाप्रपा
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• निवृत्त: stopped, discontinued
• निवृत्त: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि-√वृत् (निवृत्त)
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• यज्ञस्वाध्याया: of sacrifice and Vedic study
• यज्ञस्वाध्याया: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञस्वाध्याय
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• निर्वषट्कारम्: devoid of vaṣaṭ-calls (ritual exclamations)
• निर्वषट्कारम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्वषट्कार
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अज्ला: unclear reading; possibly a noun describing the condition/state
• अज्ला: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अज्ला (पाठभेद/अस्पष्ट)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• sabhā (assembly halls)
• prapā (public drinking stations)
• yajña (sacrifices)
• svādhyāya (Vedic study)
• vaṣaṭkāra (ritual exclamation)
• yūpa (sacrificial post)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links ecological and civic breakdown (drought, abandoned public utilities) with moral and dharmic decline: when society neglects yajña (public-spirited sacred duty) and svādhyāya (discipline of learning), auspicious culture and communal welfare collapse, symbolized by the silence of the vaṣaṭ-cry and the end of festivals.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma is describing a time of severe deterioration: water sources dry up, public halls and water-stations are deserted, sacrifices and Vedic recitation stop, and with that the broader economy and social life—agriculture, cattle-care, markets, and major celebrations—falls into ruin.