Shloka 20

Gautama–Yama Saṃvāda: Mātṛ-Pitṛ-Ṛṇa (Debt to Parents) and Śubha-Loka Attainment

Devanagari script

त॑ द्रवन्तमनुप्राप्तो वनमेतद्‌ यद्च्छया । भवत्सकाशं नष्टश्रीहताश: श्रमकर्शित:

Transliteration

taṁ dravantam anuprāpto vanam etad yadṛcchayā | bhavat-sakāśaṁ naṣṭa-śrī-hatāśaḥ śrama-karśitaḥ ||

Translation

“అతడు భయంతో వేగంగా పారిపోతుండగా, యాదృచ్ఛికంగా నేనూ ఇదే అరణ్యానికి చేరి మీ సన్నిధికి వచ్చాను—అతని కాంతి నశించింది, ఆశ చచ్చిపోయింది, శ్రమతో శరీరం క్షీణించింది.”

Word by Word

• तं: him
• तं: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• द्रवन्तम्: running
• द्रवन्तम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: द्रवत् (द्रु धातु)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, शतृ (वर्तमान कृदन्त, present active participle)

• अनुप्राप्तः: having reached / having come up to
• अनुप्राप्तः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु-प्र-आप् (आप् धातु)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• वनम्: forest
• वनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• यदृच्छया: by chance / accidentally
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदृच्छा
• Form: avyaya (adverbial usage; historically instrumental singular)

• भवत्सकाशम्: near you / in your presence
• भवत्सकाशम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भवत् + सकाश
• Form: avyaya meaning 'near/at the presence of you'; accusative-form used adverbially

• नष्टश्रीः: one whose prosperity is lost
• नष्टश्रीः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नष्ट + श्री
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हताशः: hopeless / with hopes destroyed
• हताशः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हत + आशा
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• श्रमकर्शितः: worn out by fatigue
• श्रमकर्शितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रम + कर्शित (कृश्/कर्ष् धातु)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma (speaker)
• forest (vana)
• the fleeing person (unnamed in this verse)
• the addressed listener ('bhavat'—you)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the fragility of worldly prosperity (śrī) and the collapse of confidence when one is overtaken by fear and misfortune. Ethically, it points toward steadiness and humility: when fortune turns, one’s true character is tested, and endurance aligned with dharma becomes essential.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma recounts encountering someone who was fleeing. By chance he reached the same forest and came to the listener’s presence, describing the fugitive as exhausted, stripped of former splendor, and sunk in despair—setting a tone of reversal of fortune and hardship.