Shloka 17

Rājā–Rāja-Śabda-Prabhavaḥ — The Origin and Rationale of Kingship and Daṇḍanīti

Devanagari script

नष्टायां प्रतिपत्तो च मोहवश्या नरास्तदा । लोभस्य वशमापतन्ना: सर्वे भरतसत्तम

Transliteration

naṣṭāyāṁ pratipattau ca mohavaśyā narās tadā | lobhasya vaśam āpannāḥ sarve bharatasattama ||

Translation

Бхишма сказал: «Когда было утрачено верное разумение, люди того времени стали беспомощны под властью заблуждения; и все они, о лучший из Бхаратов, подпали под власть жадности.»

Word by Word

• नष्टायाम्: when (it) was lost/destroyed
• नष्टायाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नष्ट (√नश्)
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• प्रतिपत्तौ: in understanding/right judgment
• प्रतिपत्तौ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतिपत्ति
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• मोहवश्याः: subject to delusion
• मोहवश्याः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मोहवश्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नराः: men/people
• नराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तदा: then/at that time
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

• लोभस्य: of greed
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोभ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• वशम्: control/power
• वशम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वश
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आपतन्: fell into/reached
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पत्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Plural

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भरतसत्तम: O best of the Bharatas
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरतसत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Bharatasattama (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

When discernment (pratipatti) is lost, delusion (moha) takes over, and greed (lobha) becomes the ruling force; ethical conduct collapses because inner clarity is the foundation of self-restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war, explaining how societies and individuals fall into wrongdoing: first by losing right judgment, then by becoming deluded, and finally by being driven by greed.