Shloka 19

भीमसेनस्य आत्मबलप्रशंसा — Bhīmasena’s Assertion of Strength

Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 74

Devanagari script

अनित्यं किल मर्त्यस्य पार्थ चित्त चलाचलम्‌ | वातवेगप्रचलिता अछ्लीला शाल्मलेरिव

Transliteration

anityaṃ kila martyasya pārtha cittaṃ calācalaṃ | vātavega-pracalitaṃ aślīlā śālmaler iva ||

Translation

Вайшампаяна сказал: «О Партха, говорят, что ум смертного поистине непостоянен — он никогда не бывает твёрдо закреплён в одном решении. Гонимый порывом ветра, он колеблется, как рыхлый пух на дереве шальмали (шёлковом хлопчатнике).»

Word by Word

• अनित्यम्: impermanent, unstable
• अनित्यम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनित्य
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• किल: indeed, they say
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किल

• मर्त्यस्य: of a mortal/man
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्त्य
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• पार्थ: O Partha (Arjuna)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• चित्तम्: mind, thought
• चित्तम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चित्त
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• चलाचलम्: moving and unmoving; fickle/unstable
• चलाचलम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चल-अचल
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• वातवेगप्रचलिता: set in motion by the force of wind
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वात-वेग-प्रचलित
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• अछलीला: unsteady, wavering (lit. not steady/firm)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अछलीला
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• शाल्मलेः: of the silk-cotton tree (śālmali)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाल्मलि
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Singular

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• पार्थ: O Partha
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• śālmali tree
• wind (vāta)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Human resolve is fragile: the mind does not remain fixed on a single decision and is easily shaken by external forces. The verse urges awareness of this fickleness so that one cultivates steadiness, restraint, and deliberate judgment in dharmic choices.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Udyoga Parva’s counsel-filled setting before the great war, Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses Pārtha (Arjuna) with a reflective observation about the instability of the human mind, using a vivid natural simile to frame the moral-psychological atmosphere of deliberation and decision.