Shloka 33

तीर्थवंशोपदेशः

Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters

Devanagari script

क्रियमाणे5पवर्गे च यो द्विजो भरतर्षभ । न व्याहरति यद्युक्त तस्याधर्मो गवानृतम्‌

Transliteration

kriyamāṇe ’pavarge ca yo dvijo bharatarṣabha | na vyāharati yadyuktaṃ tasyādharmo gavānṛtam ||

Translation

భీష్ముడు పలికెను— ఓ భరతశ్రేష్ఠా! అపవర్గం (మోక్షప్రద) కర్మ జరుగుతున్నప్పుడు ద్విజుడు విధిసమ్మతమైన, యథోచితమైన వాక్యాలను పలకకపోతే, ఆ లోపమే అతనికి అధర్మమవుతుంది—గోవిషయంలో అసత్యం పలికినంత ఘోర పాపం.

Word by Word

क्रियमाणेwhen (it is) being done

अपवर्गेin the rite/ceremony (apavarga)

चand

यःwho

द्विजःa Brahmin / twice-born

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas

नnot

व्याहरतिutters / speaks out

यदिif

उक्तम्what is said / the utterance (to be spoken)

तस्यof him

अधर्मःunrighteousness / sin

गोcow

अनृतम्falsehood / untruth

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Bharatarṣabha (address to Yudhiṣṭhira)

dvija (twice-born)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

In sacred contexts, especially rites aimed at spiritual uplift, silence or failure to recite what is duly prescribed is itself a breach of dharma; ethical responsibility includes speaking the right words at the right time.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira in the Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma teachings, emphasizes the moral weight of correct ritual speech: neglecting proper utterance during a liberation-oriented rite is counted as serious wrongdoing.