Shloka 57

पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation

Devanagari script

चिरमाशंसितो मात्रा चिरं गर्भेण धारित: । सफल चिरकारित्वं कुरु त्वं चिरकारिक,“तेरी माता चिरकालसे तेरे जन्मकी आशा लगाये बैठी थी। उसने चिरकालतक तुझे गर्भमें धारण किया है, अतः बेटा चिरकारी! आज तू अपनी माताकी रक्षा करके चिरकारिताको सफल कर ले

Transliteration

ciram āśaṃsito mātrā ciraṃ garbheṇa dhāritaḥ | saphalaṃ cirakāritvaṃ kuru tvaṃ cirakārika ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “For a long time your mother yearned for you, and for a long time she bore you in her womb. Therefore, O Cirakārika, make your ‘slowness’ truly fruitful today—protect your mother and let your long-delayed action become meaningful.”

Word by Word

चिरम्for a long time

आशंसितःhoped for, longed for

मात्राby the mother

चिरम्for a long time

गर्भेणwith/in the womb (as the means of bearing)

धारितःborne, carried

सफलम्fruitful, successful

चिरकारित्वम्the state of being long-awaited/long in coming

कुरुmake, do

त्वम्you

चिरकारिकO long-awaited one / O late-born one

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Cirakārika

Mother (mātṛ)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

One should repay a mother’s immense sacrifice by upholding dharma—especially protecting her—so that even a naturally slow, cautious temperament becomes meaningful when directed toward righteous action.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma addresses Cirakārika, urging him to act: since his mother long hoped for him and carried him for a long time, he should now make his ‘cirakāritva’ (slowness/long delay) worthwhile by safeguarding her.