Shloka 48

Adhyāya 136: Yavakrī–Bharadvāja Saṃvāda and the Bāladhī–Dhanuṣākṣa Gāthā

Arrogance, Boons, and Nimitta

Devanagari script

बालधिरुवाच यथेमे पर्वता: शश्वत्‌ तिष्ठन्ति सुरसत्तमा: । अक्षयास्तन्निमित्तं मे सुतस्यायुर्भविष्यति,बालधि बोले--देववरो! जैसे ये पर्वत सदा अक्षयभावसे खड़े रहते हैं, वैसे ही मेरा पुत्र भी सदा अक्षय बना रहे। ये पर्वत ही उसकी आयुके निमित्त होंगे अर्थात्‌ जबतक ये पर्वत यहाँ बने रहें तबतक मेरा पुत्र भी जीवित रहे

Transliteration

bāladhir uvāca | yatheme parvatāḥ śaśvat tiṣṭhanti surasattamāḥ | akṣayās tan-nimittaṃ me sutasya āyur bhaviṣyati ||

Translation

Bāladhi disse: “Ó melhor entre os deuses! Assim como estas montanhas permanecem para sempre, firmes e imperecíveis, assim também que meu filho permaneça ileso e sem desgaste. Sejam estas montanhas a própria condição de sua vida—enquanto elas perdurarem aqui, enquanto isso meu filho viverá.”

Word by Word

• {'uvāca': 'said', 'yathā': 'just as

• in the manner that', 'ime': 'these', 'parvatāḥ': 'mountains', 'śaśvat': 'always

• perpetually', 'tiṣṭhanti': 'stand

• remain', 'sura-sattama': 'best among the gods (vocative address)', 'akṣayāḥ': 'imperishable

• inexhaustible', 'tat-nimittam': 'as the cause/condition of that

• on that account', 'me': 'my', 'sutasya': 'of (my) son', 'āyuḥ': 'lifespan

• life', 'bhaviṣyati': 'will be

Speaker

भरद्वाज उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bāladhi
• sura-sattama (a deity addressed)
• parvatāḥ (mountains)
• suta (son)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a common epic motif: a boon framed through a stable natural symbol. By tying a child’s lifespan to the enduring mountains, the speaker expresses the ethical impulse of protection and the belief that blessings can be anchored to an external, lasting condition.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bāladhi addresses a supreme divine being and petitions for his son’s long life. He asks that the son’s lifespan be linked to the permanence of the surrounding mountains—so that the son lives as long as those mountains remain.