Shanti Parva Adhyaya 142 Shloka 22 - Mahabharata | Punjabi | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 22

Devanagari script

गतदैवतसंस्थाना वृद्धबालविनाकृता । गोजाविमहिषीहीना परस्परपराहता

Transliteration

gatadaivatasaṁsthānā vṛddhabālavinākṛtā | gojāvimahiṣīhīnā parasparaparāhatā ||

Translation

ਭੀਸ਼ਮ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਧਰਤੀ ਤੋਂ ਦੇਵਾਲੇ ਅਤੇ ਧਰਮ-ਸੰਸਥਾਵਾਂ ਉਠ ਗਈਆਂ ਸਨ; ਬੁੱਢੇ ਅਤੇ ਬੱਚੇ ਮਰ ਮੁੱਕੇ ਸਨ। ਗਾਂ, ਭੇਡਾਂ, ਬੱਕਰੀਆਂ ਅਤੇ ਮਹੀਂਸਾਂ ਲਗਭਗ ਖਤਮ ਹੋ ਚੁੱਕੀਆਂ ਸਨ। ਭੁੱਖ ਨਾਲ ਬੇਚੈਨ ਜੀਵ ਇਕ ਦੂਜੇ ਉੱਤੇ ਵਾਰ ਕਰਦੇ ਸਨ।

Word by Word

गतgone, departed

दैवत-संस्थानाःreligious establishments/temples (lit. deity-institutions)

वृद्ध-बाल-विनाकृताःdeprived of old people and children

गो-अज-अवि-महिषी-हीनाःwithout cows, goats, sheep, and buffalo-cows

परस्पर-पराहताःstriking one another / mutually injured

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

daivata-saṁsthāna (temples/sacred institutions)

vṛddha (elders)

bāla (children)

go (cows)

jāvi (sheep/goats)

mahiṣī (buffaloes)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

When dharma-supporting institutions and basic sustenance collapse, society descends into fear and mutual violence; the verse warns that protecting religious-social order and ensuring food security are ethical duties of governance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma depicts a devastated realm: worship-centers and institutions have vanished, vulnerable age-groups have died, livestock is depleted, and hunger drives people to attack each other—illustrating the extreme conditions of disorder and scarcity.