Shloka 13

Devanagari script

ततो नदान्‌ नदीश्रैव पल्वलानि वनानि च । अतिक्रम्याभ्यतिक्रम्य ससारैको वनेचर:,उधर वह वनमें विचरनेवाला मृग अकेला ही अनेकों नदों, नदियों, गड्ढों और जंगलोंको बारंबार लाँचता हुआ आगे-आगे भागता जा रहा था

Transliteration

tato nadān nadīś caiva palvalāni vanāni ca | atikramyābhyatikramya sasāraiko vane-caraḥ ||

Translation

Então aquela criatura solitária, errante da floresta, continuou a fugir sem cessar, atravessando e tornando a atravessar riachos e rios, poças lamacentas e trechos de mata—impelida pelo medo e pela urgência, sem companheiro que partilhasse o perigo ou aconselhasse o seu rumo.

Word by Word

ततःthen/from there

नदान्rivers (streams)

नदीःrivers

एवindeed/also/just

पल्वलानिpools/marshes

वनानिforests

चand

अतिक्रम्यhaving crossed/overstepped

अभ्यतिक्रम्यhaving repeatedly crossed/overpassed

ससारran/flowed forth (sped)

एकःalone/one

वनेचरःforest-roamer (wild animal)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

a solitary forest-dwelling animal (vane-caraḥ, likely a deer)

streams (nadāḥ)

rivers (nadyaḥ)

pools/marshes (palvalāni)

forests (vanāni)

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 underscores how fear and compulsion can drive a being into restless, repetitive motion—crossing obstacle after obstacle without stability. In Shanti Parva’s ethical frame, it hints at the suffering of a mind (or life) lacking refuge, guidance, or right orientation (dharma), where agitation replaces discernment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma describes a lone forest creature fleeing through the wilderness. It repeatedly crosses streams, rivers, marshy pools, and forests, continuing to run forward—suggesting pursuit, danger, or panic as the immediate narrative situation.