Shloka 31

Devanagari script

अपश्यमानस्तद्‌ द्वारं सर्वतः पिहितो मुनि: । पर्यक्रामद्‌ दह्मुमान इतश्रैतश्न॒ तेजसा

Transliteration

apaśyamānas tad dvāraṁ sarvataḥ pihito muniḥ | paryakrāmad dahmumān itaś caitaś ca tejasā ||

Translation

Bhīṣma disse: Não encontrando aquela porta e estando fechado por todos os lados, o sábio—dotado de poder interior—moveu-se de um lado para outro, buscando uma passagem pela força de sua energia espiritual.

Word by Word

अपश्यमानःnot seeing

तत्that

द्वारम्door, gate

सर्वतःon all sides, from every direction

पिहितःcovered, shut, blocked

मुनिःsage

पर्यक्रामत्went around, circumambulated

ब्रह्मवान्possessed of brahman (spiritual power/knowledge)

इतश्from here, on this side

चand

एतश्from there, on that side

तेजसाby (his) radiance/energy

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

muni (a sage)

dvāra (doorway/exit)

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?

When ordinary means fail and one feels hemmed in, the verse highlights steadfast effort guided by inner discipline: the sage does not collapse into despair but continues searching, relying on tejas—earned spiritual strength—rather than agitation or wrongdoing.

What is happening in the narrative?

A sage finds himself blocked on all sides and cannot locate the exit. He moves about in different directions, attempting to discover a way out, empowered by his ascetic energy (tejas).