Shloka 108

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

Devanagari script

तयोर्विज्ञानविदुषोर्द्धयोर्मगपतत्रिणो: । वाक्यैरमृतकल्पैस्तै: प्रतिष्ठन्ति व्रजन्ति च,उनमेंसे एक पशु था और दूसरा पक्षी। दोनों ही ज्ञानकी बातें जानते थे। उन दोनोंके अमृतरूपी वचनोंसे प्रभावित हो वे मृतकके सम्बन्धी कभी ठहर जाते और कभी आगे बढ़ते थे

Transliteration

tayor vijñāna-viduṣor dvayor mṛga-patatriṇoḥ | vākyair amṛta-kalpais taiḥ pratiṣṭhanti vrajanti ca ||

Translation

तयोर्विज्ञानविदुषोर्द्वयोर्मृगपतत्रिणोः। वाक्यैरमृतकल्पैस्तैः प्रतिष्ठन्ति व्रजन्ति च॥

Word by Word

तयोःof those two

विज्ञानविदुषोःof the two who were knowers of knowledge/discernment

उभयोःof both

मृगपतत्रिणोःof the beast and the bird

वाक्यैःby (their) words/sayings

अमृतकल्पैःnectar-like

तैःby those

प्रतिष्ठन्तिthey halt/stand still

व्रजन्तिthey go/proceed

चand

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

a beast (mṛga)

a bird (patatrin)

relatives of the dead (implied by context)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Wise, life-affirming speech can steady a mind shaken by bereavement—sometimes stopping impulsive action, sometimes enabling rightful movement forward—showing that counsel grounded in insight guides conduct amid grief.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes a scene where two beings—one an animal and the other a bird—speak profound, ‘nectar-like’ words. Those words affect the mourners (the dead person’s relatives), causing them alternately to pause and then to continue, as their emotions and decisions are shaped by the counsel.