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Shloka 52

ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana

River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor

बाण: कार्तस्वरो वल्लिविश्वदंष्टो5थ नैऋति: | संकोचो<5थ वरीताक्षो वराहाश्वो रुचिप्रभ:

bāṇaḥ kārtasvaro valliviśvadaṃṣṭo ’tha nairṛtiḥ | saṃkoco ’tha varītākṣo varāhāśvo ruciprabhāḥ ||

Bhīṣma disse: “(Estes são) os nomes—Bāṇa, Kārtasvara, Valli-viśvadaṃṣṭa e Nairṛti; e também Saṃkoca, Varītākṣa, Varāhāśva e Ruciprabhā.” Nesta seção, Bhīṣma continua uma enumeração formal de seres (ou epítetos) específicos, preservando uma tradição de nomeação precisa na instrução do dharma—na qual a identificação exata e a lembrança desses nomes são tidas como parte de um saber disciplinado e de uma ordem ritual-ética.

बाणःarrow; (name) Bāṇa
बाणः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootबाण
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
कार्तस्वरःKārtasvara (gold); (name) Kārtasvara
कार्तस्वरः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootकार्तस्वर
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
वल्लिविश्वदंष्टःValliviśvadaṃṣṭa (name; lit. 'having all-fang(s) like creepers')
वल्लिविश्वदंष्टः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootवल्लिविश्वदंष्ट
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
अथand then; also
अथ:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootअथ
नैऋतिःNairṛti (name; relating to Nirṛti / the southwest)
नैऋतिः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootनैऋति
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
संकोचःcontraction; (name) Saṃkoca
संकोचः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootसंकोच
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
अथand then; also
अथ:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootअथ
वरीताक्षःVarītākṣa (name; lit. 'having varīta-like eyes')
वरीताक्षः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootवरीताक्ष
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
वराहाश्वःVarāhāśva (name; lit. 'boar-and-horse')
वराहाश्वः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootवराहाश्व
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
रुचिप्रभःRuciprabha (name; 'splendor of radiance')
रुचिप्रभः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootरुचिप्रभ
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular

भीष्म उवाच

B
Bhīṣma
B
Bāṇa
K
Kārtasvara
V
Valli-viśvadaṃṣṭa
N
Nairṛti
S
Saṃkoca
V
Varītākṣa
V
Varāhāśva
R
Ruciprabhā

Educational Q&A

The verse functions as part of a dharma-style transmission where exact naming and orderly listing are treated as a form of disciplined knowledge—supporting remembrance, classification, and the integrity of the tradition being taught.

Bhīṣma is continuing an enumerative passage, reciting a sequence of specific names/epithets. The verse is not argumentative but catalogic, preserving a received list within his instruction in the Śānti Parva.