Shloka 753

ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana

River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor

Devanagari script

समरेषु च विक्रान्तं पर्याप्त॑ तन्निदर्शनम्‌ । पहले मैं जो पुरुषार्थ प्रकट कर चुका हूँ

Transliteration

samareṣu ca vikrāntaṃ paryāptaṃ tan-nidarśanam |

Translation

பீஷ்மர் கூறினார்—போர்க்களங்களில் என் வீரத்திற்குச் சான்றாக ஒரே ஒரு எடுத்துக்காட்டே போதும். நான் முன்பு வெளிப்படுத்திய ஆண்மைமிகு முயற்சியையும் உறுதியையும் நீயே மிகச் சிறப்பாக அறிவாய். பல போர்களில் மீண்டும் மீண்டும் என் பராக்கிரமத்தை நீ கண்டிருக்கிறாய்; ஆகவே இந்நேரத்தில் ஒரு உதாரணமே போதுமானது.

Word by Word

• {'samareṣu': 'in battles, in combats (locative plural of samara)', 'ca': 'and', 'vikrāntam': 'valor, heroic prowess

• also ‘having advanced boldly’', 'paryāptam': 'sufficient, adequate, enough', 'tat': 'that', 'nidarśanam': 'example, illustration, proof by instance'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma frames ethical credibility through lived conduct: when character and duty have been repeatedly demonstrated, elaborate self-praise is unnecessary—one clear instance can serve as sufficient evidence of steadfast resolve and martial virtue.

What is happening in the narrative?

In his instruction during the Shanti Parva, Bhishma refers to his well-known battlefield record. Addressing his listener (implicitly someone who has seen his past wars), he says that his valor is already familiar and that a single illustrative example will suffice for the point he is making.