Shloka 6

Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154

Devanagari script

शोचन्तस्तस्य पूर्वोक्तान्‌ भाषितांश्वासकृत्‌ पुन: । तं बाल॑ भूतले क्षिप्य प्रतिगन्तुं न शकनुयु:

Transliteration

śocantastasya pūrvoktān bhāṣitān śvāsakṛt punaḥ | taṃ bālaṃ bhūtale kṣipya pratigantuṃ na śaknu yuḥ ||

Translation

Скорбя, они вновь и вновь вспоминали слова, сказанные ребёнком прежде, и дыхание их прерывалось от горя. Потому, даже положив его на землю на месте сожжения, они не могли повернуть назад и уйти — их удерживали сострадание и память.

Word by Word

• शोचन्तः: grieving, lamenting
• शोचन्तः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: शुच् (धातु) → शोचत् (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुं/नपुं, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• पूर्वोक्तान्: previously spoken
• पूर्वोक्तान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्वोक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• भाषितान्: utterances, words spoken
• भाषितान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाषित (कृदन्त; √भाष्)
• Form: पुं, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• श्वासकृत्: the one who caused sighs (sigh-maker)
• श्वासकृत्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वासकृत् (प्रातिपदिक; श्वास + कृत्)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पुनः: again, repeatedly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• बालम्: the boy/child
• बालम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• भूतले: on the ground
• भूतले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूतल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुं, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• क्षिप्य: having thrown/cast
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षिप् (धातु) → क्षिप्य (ल्यप्/क्त्वान्त अव्यय)

• प्रतिगन्तुम्: to return, to go back
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति-गम् (धातु) → प्रतिगन्तुम् (तुमुन्)
• Form: infinitive

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• शकनुयुः: they were able/could
• Type: Verb
• Root: शक् (धातु)
• Form: लिङ् (potential/optative), प्रथम, बहुवचन

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• bāla (a child)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how remembrance and compassion can overpower mere ritual completion: grief makes people linger, unable to detach even after performing the outward act. It implicitly points to the ethical depth of human bonds and the difficulty of letting go.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes mourners who, repeatedly recalling the child’s earlier words, become overwhelmed with sorrow. Even after placing the child down on the ground (understood in context as the cremation-ground setting), they cannot bring themselves to return home.