Shloka 16

Devanagari script

तस्माद्‌ विधाय नगरे विधानं सचिवै: सह । अर्चयस्व यथाकामं दैवतानि विशाम्पते,“राजन! अतः आप मन्त्रियोंके साथ नगरकी रक्षाके लिये आवश्यक व्यवस्था करके इच्छानुसार देवताओंकी अर्चना कीजिये”

Transliteration

tasmād vidhāya nagare vidhānaṃ sacivaiḥ saha | arcayasva yathākāmaṃ daivatāni viśāmpate ||

Translation

Посему, о владыка народа, устроив вместе с советниками в городе необходимые меры для его защиты и должного порядка, воздай почитание божествам по своему желанию.

Word by Word

तस्मात्therefore/from that

विधायhaving arranged/made

नगरेin the city

विधानम्arrangement/organization

सचिवैःwith ministers/counsellors

सहtogether with

अर्चयस्वworship (you)

यथाas/according to

कामम्desire/wish

दैवतानिthe deities

विशाम्पतेO lord of the people

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

king (addressed as viśāmpati)

ministers (saciva)

city (nagara)

deities (daivatāni)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler should first secure and regulate the city through proper administrative measures with competent ministers, and then perform worship; dharma here is the integration of responsible governance with reverence for the divine.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma is giving counsel to a king, instructing him to organize the city’s defenses and civic order in consultation with ministers, and thereafter to worship the deities according to his intention.