Shloka 18

The Thirteen Inner Adversaries (Trayodaśa Doṣāḥ): Origins and Pacification

Devanagari script

तदहं बुद्धिमास्थाय भयं मोक्ष्ये समीरणात्‌ | यदि तां बुद्धिमास्थाय तिष्ठेयु: पर्णिनो वने

Transliteration

tadahaṁ buddhim āsthāya bhayaṁ mokṣye samīraṇāt | yadi tāṁ buddhim āsthāya tiṣṭheyuḥ parṇino vane ||

Translation

ฉะนั้นข้าจะอาศัยปัญญาเป็นที่พึ่ง ปลดเปลื้องความหวาดกลัวต่อสายลม หากเหล่าพฤกษาใบดกในพงไพรยืนหยัดได้ด้วยความเข้าใจนั้น ข้าก็ย่อมยืนหยัดได้เช่นกัน

Word by Word

तत्that (thing)

अहम्I

बुद्धिम्understanding, resolve

आस्थायhaving resorted to, having adopted

भयम्fear

मोक्ष्येI shall release / get free (from)

समीरणात्from the wind

यदिif

ताम्that (same) (f.)

बुद्धिम्understanding, resolve

आस्थायhaving resorted to, having adopted

तिष्ठेयुःthey should stand / remain

पर्णिनःleafy (ones), having leaves

वनेin the forest

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

samīraṇa (wind)

vana (forest)

parṇinaḥ (leaf-bearing trees)

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?

Fear is overcome by buddhi—steady discernment. By anchoring the mind in clear understanding, one becomes unmoved by external disturbances, just as trees endure the wind.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma uses a natural image—leafy trees standing in a forest despite the wind—to illustrate how he (and by extension a disciplined person) can remain steady and free from fear by relying on firm understanding.