Shloka 5

Janamejaya’s Appeal for Pacification and Śaunaka’s Counsel on Humility (जनमेजय-शौनक संवादः)

Devanagari script

अरावप्युचितं कार्यमातिथ्यं गृहमागते । छेत्तुमप्यागते छायां नोपसंहरते द्रुम:,“यदि शत्रु भी घरपपर आ जाय तो उसका उचित आदर-सत्कार करना चाहिये। जो काटनेके लिये आया हो, उसके ऊपरसे भी वृक्ष अपनी छाया नहीं हटाता

Transliteration

arāv apy ucitaṁ kāryam ātithyaṁ gṛham āgate | chettum apy āgate chāyāṁ nopasaṁharate drumaḥ ||

Translation

“பகைவனே இல்லத்திற்கு வந்தாலும், அவனுக்குத் தக்க விருந்தோம்பல் செய்ய வேண்டும். வெட்ட வந்தவனின் மீதும் மரம் தன் நிழலை விலக்காது.”

Word by Word

अरावपिeven in (the case of) an enemy

उचितम्proper, fitting

कार्यम्to be done; a duty

आतिथ्यम्hospitality

गृहम्house, home

आगतेwhen (someone) has come; on the arrival (of a guest)

छेत्तुम्to cut

अपिeven

आगतेwhen (someone) has come (to cut)

छायाम्shade

नnot

उपसंहरतेwithdraws, draws back

द्रुमःa tree

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

enemy (ari)

house (gṛha)

tree (druma)

shade (chāyā)

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?

Maintain atithi-dharma (the duty of hospitality) even toward an enemy who arrives at one’s home; true dharma is steady and does not collapse under fear or anger, just as a tree continues to give shade even to the one who would cut it.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction on righteous conduct in the Śānti Parva, he uses a vivid analogy: a tree does not retract its shade from a would-be cutter. This illustrates how a virtuous householder should uphold courtesy and protection for a guest—even if that guest is hostile.