Shloka 4

Devanagari script

जातिस्मरो महानुष्ट: प्राजापत्ये युगे5भवत्‌ । तप: सुमहादातिष्ठदरण्ये संशितव्रत:,प्राजापत्ययुग (सत्ययुग) में एक महान्‌ ऊँट था। उसको पूर्वजन्मकी बातोंका स्मरण था। उसने कठोर व्रतके पालनका नियम लेकर वनमें बड़ी भारी तपस्या आरम्भ की

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | jātismaro mahānuṣṭraḥ prājāpatye yuge 'bhavat | tapaḥ sumahad ātiṣṭhad araṇye saṃśitavrataḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma disse: Na era de Prajāpati (o Satya Yuga primordial) viveu um grande camelo, dotado de memória de nascimentos anteriores. Tendo assumido um voto rigoroso, iniciou na floresta uma austeridade extremamente severa, entregando a vida à disciplina e ao autodomínio.

Word by Word

जातिस्मरःone who remembers (his) former birth

महान्great

उष्ट्रःcamel

प्राजापत्येin the Prajāpatya (age/period)

युगेin the age (yuga)

अभवत्was/became

तपःausterity, penance

सुमहत्very great

आतिष्ठत्undertook, began (to practice)

अरण्येin the forest

संशितव्रतःone of sharpened/strict vows

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Prajapatya Yuga (Satya Yuga)

a great camel (anuṣṭra)

forest (araṇya)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse introduces an ethical exemplum: even a non-human being, remembering past lives, can deliberately adopt strict vows and undertake tapas. It foregrounds the Mahabharata’s theme that dharma is supported by self-restraint and disciplined effort, not merely by birth or status.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma begins a story set in the primordial age: a great camel with past-life memory takes up a firm vow and starts intense austerities in the forest, preparing the ground for a moral lesson that follows.