Shloka 12

Devanagari script

यथा हाामृतमाश्रित्य वर्तयन्ति दिवौकस: । तथा वृत्तिं समाश्रित्य वर्तयन्ति प्रजा विभो,प्रभो! जैसे देवता अमृतका आश्रय लेकर जीवन-निर्वाह करते हैं, उसी प्रकार समस्त प्रजा आजीविकाके सहारे जीवन धारण करती है

Transliteration

yathā hāmṛtam āśritya vartayanti divaukasaḥ | tathā vṛttiṃ samāśritya vartayanti prajā vibho ||

Translation

ప్రభో! దేవతలు అమృతాన్ని ఆశ్రయించి జీవనాన్ని నడుపుకొనునట్లు, సమస్త ప్రజలు జీవనోపాధిని ఆశ్రయించి జీవితం ధరిస్తారు.

Word by Word

यथाjust as

हindeed (emphatic particle)

अमृतम्nectar; immortality-giving drink

आश्रित्यhaving resorted to; relying on

वर्तयन्तिthey maintain/continue (their life); they subsist

दिवौकसःthe dwellers in heaven; gods

तथाso; in the same way

वृत्तिम्livelihood; means of subsistence

समाश्रित्यhaving fully resorted to; relying upon

वर्तयन्तिthey maintain/continue (their life); they subsist

प्रजाःsubjects; people

विभोO mighty one; O lord

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

divaukasaḥ (the gods/devas)

amṛta (nectar of immortality)

prajāḥ (the people/subjects)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that livelihood (vṛtti) is as essential to human society as amṛta is to the gods: it is the sustaining support of life. Ethically, it implies that ensuring and protecting rightful means of subsistence is central to dharma and good governance.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma continues instructing the king on dharma. Here he uses a vivid comparison—gods depending on amṛta—to emphasize to the ruler that the people depend on their livelihoods, and that social stability rests on that support.