Shloka 3

Devanagari script

वने महति कम्मिंश्चिदमनुष्यनिषेविते । ऋषिर्मूलफलाहारो नियतो नियतेन्द्रिय:,किसी महान्‌ निर्जन वनमें फल-मूलका आहार करके रहनेवाले एक नियमपरायण जितेन्द्रिय महर्षि रहते थे

Transliteration

vane mahati kasmiṃścid amanuṣya-niṣevite | ṛṣir mūla-phala-āhāro niyato niyatendriyaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma disse: Numa vasta floresta, em certo lugar não frequentado por homens, vivia um grande sábio—alimentando-se de raízes e frutos, firme em seus votos e com os sentidos rigidamente dominados.

Word by Word

वनेin the forest

महतिgreat, vast

कस्मिंश्चित्in some (place)

अमनुष्यनिषेवितेnot frequented by men

ऋषिःa sage

मूलफलाहारःone whose food is roots and fruits

नियतःrestrained, disciplined

नियतेन्द्रियःone whose senses are controlled

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

a rishi (sage)

a great forest (vana)

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?

The verse foregrounds the ethical ideal of tapas and self-restraint: a disciplined life, simplicity of sustenance, and control of the senses as a foundation for dharmic insight.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma begins an illustrative account by introducing the setting (a remote forest) and the central figure (a great, austere sage), preparing for a moral or dharma-oriented episode that follows.